


My Enemy, My Friend

by FallenInDreams



Category: Naruto
Genre: Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M, Gaara and Sakura just met that one time because this is AU and things didn't go the way you remember, Humor, Humour, Light Angst, Naruto is Hokage, Ninja, Ninja world, Romance, Smut, be prepared for smut, drama - late blooming drama, funny is completely up to interpretation, it won't always make sense but it's fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:55:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 37,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24749476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenInDreams/pseuds/FallenInDreams
Summary: Rumour has it that the new Kazekage is difficult to please and can't be trusted. Unable to confirm or deny this, the Hokage decides to send his best friend to test Gaara. Naruto had it all figured out: Sakura plus seduction equals one very *satisfied* Kazekage. AUish.
Relationships: GaaSaku, Gaara/Haruno Sakura, Haruno Sakura/Gaara, Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, NaruHina, Sai/Hyuuga Hanabi
Comments: 93
Kudos: 68





	1. Decisions, Decisions

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya.  
> This story is on fanfiction net and in the process of being edited. It's mostly just light edits.  
> Also, if you read the original, you MIGHT (probably not) remember Sasuke's name being dropped in a later chapter. He's been a naughty boy in this fic. That said, I REALLY don't want to bash him. However, the late stages of the story RELY on certain things that are connected to him, so I have to leave him in the antagonist position.  
>  **BUT:** I will endeavour to make it as realistic and non-bashy as I can. I would like to think I'm a much more mature fanfic writer now than I was back in 2012 when I started this story. So please remember I don't hate him when reading this.  
>  **Also:** this is a humour/romance story with drama, the occasional mild parody (don't bother squinting to see it), and some distant relative of angst. I don't find this story as funny as I used to, so keep this in mind if you read and don't like. All flames will be deleted and then forgotten.
> 
> That said, enjoy. ^_^

…  
Chapter One: Decisions, Decisions.  
...

"What do you think the Kazekage is like in bed, Shika-kun?"

Shikamaru Nara was a decent enough Shinobi, an excellent strategist and a dreamer with low expectations of himself outside of extraordinary situations. But he had never been very good at conversations that surrounded sex—especially when those words had come out of someone normally so _reserved_. She was playing with her pen, her gaze drifting from the hard, wooden table top she was lazily leaning into and the frustrated Hokage across the desk. Nothing miffed her more than being the personal assistant of such a _delinquent_ Hokage, but she'd bitten her tongue when her father had "arranged" it without consulting her.

She'd just interrupted Shikamaru too—he was giving his Hokage every last bit of information he could from his good will mission to Suna. He was beginning to think Naruto had drawn straws with his assistant—how else would he have been given the job as ambassador between their villages when he had a team of his own now?

Hanabi Hyuuga looked up at Shikamaru expectantly. In his musings, he hadn't answered her question. He just shook his head and sighed.

"Troublesome."

Hanabi scoffed. "It was just a question."

"Yeah Shika-kun," Naruto Uzumaki chimed in. "What's he like?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Enough jokes Hokage-sama."

Hanabi shook herself. She would just have to find someone who knew the answer later—her curiosity could wait. "He's right." She shifted the papers in front of her. "We're supposed to be deciding who to give this mission to."

"I wouldn't have taken you for a fan girl, Hanabi-chan," Naruto cooed.

She ignored him. "What are the requirements, Hokage-sama?"

Naruto groaned, gazing down at the papers in front of him, as he chewed on the end of his pen: damn that Hanabi and her ability to distract him with _work_. "She'll have to be closer to Gaara's age. The Kazekage doesn't trust people too young or too old."

Hanabi scoffed at that. "Weird."

Naruto smiled slightly. "Well, Gaara's been betrayed by many people, but since becoming Kazekage, none have been in his age bracket. Shikamaru just confirmed that Gaara's easily annoyed by old bats and young brats."

Hanabi smiled back. "Okay, what else?"

"Hm." The Hokage returned to the list. "Anyone from a Shinobi clan is out of the question—he'll spot things like the distinctive marks of the Hyuuga, the Inuzuka, or the Akimichi, and he's got a great sense of familiarity with members of the Yamanaka thanks to Ino's crush on his older brother."

"A civilian born ninja then?"

"Uh huh, and I definitely want a Kunoichi."

"Huh?" Hanabi frowned. "The Kazekage gets fan girls Naruto-sama, so a girl would—"

"It's perfect," Naruto said dismissively. "A civilian girl who doesn't fawn over him—he won't know what hit him."

"Or he'll get suspicious and spend most of the time trying to figure the girl out, ruining all chances for her to gain his trust."

"Cynic."

"I prefer to think of it as realistic."

Naruto blew a raspberry at her.

Hanabi rolled her eyes. "We're deciding on which Kunoichi to send to Suna to trick the Kazekage and potentially get herself killed over it, so take this seriously would you?"

"I need a new assistant," Naruto mumbled.

"I heard that."

The Hokage sighed. "There isn't anything you _don't_ hear, is there?"

"You remember what my father told you?"

The blonde nodded, growling softly. "I remember. Hiashi Hyuuga is a devious snake, blackmailing me like that."

"Don't you _want_ to marry my aneki?"

Naruto groaned. "Of course, I do! But the Hokage is not supposed to be blackmailed Hanabi!"

"It's not blackmail," Hanabi said, suppressing her desire to laugh at him: he was acting like a child. "It's a verbal agreement—you start acting like the Hokage and he'll stop pestering you to put off your engagement to Hinata. _Very_ fair, I think."

"Clan members…" Naruto sighed, frustrated.

He wished Hiashi would lighten up, that Hanabi would stop reminding him how _important_ appearances were when it came to the Hyuuga, and that Hinata hadn't been born into a clan. He loved her more than anyone, and probably more than he loved the village—though that was never something he could admit, being the sixth Hokage. And he would vehemently deny it if it ever came up.

He frowned at his future sister-in-law. "I've already decided on someone I trust—someone close to me, who won't make fun of me, or‒"

"Oh no," Hanabi whined, burying her face in her hands. "You didn't?"

"Not yet," Naruto admitted. "But just think about it—Sakura-chan would be perfect!"

The Hyuuga shook her head, still hiding her face. "You are such a bad Hokage."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

Hanabi groaned, looking up at him. "I'm not playing _that_ game with you again."

Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Fine, but I'm still sending Sakura-chan."

Hanabi grumbled. "And how do you expect to convince her? You know if she doesn't like the mission, she won't take it—she never does."

"I know that—I'm going to make it sound good."

She scoffed. "You've run out of bribery tactics with her—what are you going to offer this time?"

A sly grin twisted his features and Naruto gave a soft cackle. "Oh, you'll see."

She sighed. "Why did I agree to this job?"

Seriously, she should've just told her father she was too busy. Or run away from home—whatever.

The Hokage gave a non-committal shrug of his shoulders, and shunshined out; his assistant quickly stalked out after him. Shikamaru remained standing, gaping at the now vacant chair behind the Hokage's desk, frustrated in the wake of their departure. Naruto had forgotten to dismiss him… again.

**...**

"Are you kidding me?"

"No."

"You want me to…"

"Yep."

"And…"

"Uh-huh."

"Naruto, I don't know…"

"You'll enjoy it."

"What, seducing the Kazekage?"

Naruto nodded his head, a light pink tinting his cheeks. He managed to hold back the maniacal grin that was attempting to force its way onto his face. His acting skills were getting better and better under Hanabi's tutelage. She wasn't just his assistant to help him with paperwork, after all. He sucked at being diplomatic.

Sakura Haruno groaned. Kakashi Hatake stood to the side and behind Naruto—the usual position for Hanabi. The copy ninja was looking at Sakura passively, but having known him for years, she could see the infinitesimal hint at pity. She scrunched up her nose at him and he smirked… the _bastard_.

_What does he know that I don't?_

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, unnerved as he always was, by her silence. "Can you‒"

"I'm not in ANBU _Naruto_ ," she said haughtily. If they weren't best friends, she wouldn't be talking to him like this. "And as a result, I wouldn't know the first thing about how to seduce a political figure."

The blonde cleared his throat, that slight shade of pink on his cheeks now reddening. "Y-you use your womanly wiles, S-Saks."

She snorted as Kakashi chuckled. The copy ninja decided to put her out of her misery. "You don't _have_ to sleep with him Sakura—just hold that in reserve."

"Yeah, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said, perking up. "There's always an opening in the Kazekage building for a receptionist, and you're good at that stuff."

Sakura allowed a small smile to grace her features. "And am I to go in alone?"

Naruto shook his head. "No," he said, noting the way the pinkette's eyes drifted over to their former Sensei. "Kakashi isn't going with you—he's too conspicuous, what with that eye and his porn reading habits."

"Romance," Kakashi countered.

"Dirty romance," the Hokage said, pulling a face when his former Sensei sighed deeply. "My point is Sakura; I'm sending someone with you—someone who can pass as father figure: someone nondescript."

"Who?"

"Yamato."

"Tenzou," Sakura corrected.

Naruto shrugged. "I like Yamato better."

"But he's younger than even Kakashi," Sakura said.

"A brother then," Kakashi said. "I'll go fetch him."

He shunshined out and Sakura rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Uh, there's a flaw with your oh-so-Hokage logic Naruto. I've _met_ Gaara, don't forget it was just the one time, and when I was thirteen, but he'll remember me for my hair if nothing else."

Naruto waved away her concern. "Semantics."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing," he said. "Don't accuse your Hokage of naughty things, Sakura."

She smiled at that. "Sure, then don't _do_ them, Naruto."

"Okay," he said happily, and she frowned at him, worried again.

"Seriously Naruto, you're freaking me out—what aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing."

Sakura frowned. "Like I believe you. Do you even know what I'll be walking in to?"

"We _have_ intelligence," Naruto said defensively. "Gaara's not currently involved with anyone—or at least, not officially. Shikamaru has confirmed this much, directly from Temari, and that woman knows _everything_."

"Everything?"

Naruto nodded. "And apparently, the Kazekage prefers women with more spirit—you'll catch his eye in no time."

She scoffed again; she had once made the mistake of telling Naruto she thought the Kazekage was cute, so he obviously thought that would make her jump at the chance of seducing him. But if she could avoid sleeping with him, shouldn't she? She hadn't been joking when she said she had no idea how to do that. She'd had a few lovers, but she was never the one in control. Still, Gaara Sabaku struck her as the dominant type.

Sakura blushed at that thought, occupying the silence as they waited for Kakashi and Tenzou with picking at her fingernails. There were more than so-called-semantics to work out if Naruto wanted this mission to be a success. She had to worm her way into a position to either confirm or deny the rumours of the red head's intent and while she was good at subterfuge, doing so under the watchful eyes of a _Kage_ made her more nervous than the possibility of having to sleep with him… sort of.

If it was anyone other than the Wind Shadow, she'd have already hit Naruto and stormed out of the building the moment the knucklehead suggested it.

Still, the idea had merit…

The two former ANBU arrived quickly, and Naruto sat up straight in his chair, like he thought pretending to be taking this seriously would make them respect him more.

"Yamato," he said dryly. "Thanks for coming."

After Naruto explained the mission (albeit vaguely), the wood master nodded compliantly. The Hokage always lamented on how difficult Sakura was to convince of these things. But then, Tenzou wasn't the one taking the real risks on this one. The man's eyes flickered curiously over to Sakura before settling on the Hokage.

"When are we to be ready?"

"Once I have the plans for Suna's administration building, I'll schedule your mission briefing, and you should be able to leave in a few days."

Sakura pulled a face. "Fine, but you're telling me _everything_ , and no half-handed excuses this time, okay? I'm not going into this blind, _baka_."

"Don't worry Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "He loves mysterious women."

The pinkette gave him a wry smile that hinted at her desire to pummel him and followed Tenzou out of the room.

Kakashi frowned at his Hokage. "You just made that up."

Naruto grinned mischievously.

"She's going to be pissed with you when she finally figures out you're not being completely honest with her."

The blonde shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, I'm the Hokage—what can she do?"

**...**

The Memorial Stone was as it always was—another fine example of what happened to those who chose the life of a ninja. It was heart-warming, depressing and a kick in the stomach, all rolled into one. She honestly didn't know why she kept coming back here. The surrounding trees were never overrun, the grass never long and the stone cenotaph never dirty: it rained here too much for that anyway.

And Sakura Haruno loved the rain.

Running her gloved finger over the most recent name on the Memorial Stone, she vaguely wondered if her name would one day be carved in next to it, and how much longer she had to wait for that to happen.

_Depressing thoughts._

She shook her head and drew back her hand. The name on the cenotaph was just another reminder that she had to be positive. After all, she really was sick of it—waiting, hoping, and _needing_ what was never going to happen. Her teammate wasn't coming back, and she needed to move on. If such a thing was possible.

But he plagued her mind, nonetheless. She had avoided seeing him for so long, and when they finally ran into each other, she was left with nothing but regret.

Really, what did one say to another after they attempted to murder you? That he hadn't been on some killing spree, simply doing what he thought was best for his mission? Or that somewhere deep inside of him at the time, she was sure he'd never really been looking to kill her?

Sakura growled, kicking the tuft of grass in front of her, promptly unearthing a clump of roots.

_Crap._

"Watch what you're doing, ugly."

If she hadn't been so far gone into her depressed thoughts, Sakura would've laughed out loud. His sudden appearance didn't startle her. More than Naruto, Kakashi, or Tenzou, Sai had a way of making her feel better. He still thought up some colourful excuses why she should be grateful he let himself be seen in public with her, but it was oddly comforting.

"Stand in front of me next time," she said, as he stepped up next to her. "Then at least I'll have a target."

His soft smile returned hers—she was grateful, that since Danzou's death (and the removal of that damn seal), he'd found it so much easier to bring a genuine one to his face. "Are you saying goodbye before your mission?"

She nodded, gripping his arm. "I think it would be good to get out of the village for a while anyway—everyone keeps looking at me like I'm some degenerate for turning down the most recent marriage proposal."

He shook his head. "I still don't know why they keep coming after you."

"I'm popular, okay, that's why. But the last thing I need right now is some overbearing clan leader thinking it's my civic duty to marry into his clan. It was bad enough when the Inuzuka was prowling after me."

"And the Hyuuga," he said sagely.

She rolled her eyes. "I do _not_ need reminding of that."

Hiashi Hyuuga had tried to get her engaged to his nephew; Sai was currently engaging in what he called "carnal bliss" with Hanabi. Hiashi was getting the Hokage and apparently, Sakura would complete the set—like she was some kind of _collectible_. But while Sakura and Neji got along well enough, neither had feelings for the other, and Hiashi got the hint… eventually. Neji's very public proposal to Tenten definitely helped.

Sakura giggled, remembering how Tenten had hidden away for days after that. Who knew _the_ Neji Hyuuga had a thing for serenades?

"Everyone but me knows where they're going," she said, after a few minutes of silence.

"Do I?"

She nodded. "Yeah, even you."

"Where am I going, Sakura?"

She eyed him warily. "Your relationship with Hanabi hasn't progressed out of the physical stage?"

He shrugged.

"You don't want something more?"

"I'm ex-Root, so it's not easy."

Sakura's eyes flickered over the name on the Memorial Stone again. "I wish… things were different."

"He's not coming back."

"I know that," she growled.

Sai ignored her tone. "I think this is unhealthy—Kakashi-Senpai is rubbing off on you."

She leant into him and for once, Sai embraced her: a one-armed embrace, but an embrace, nonetheless. She rolled her eyes. "You're here too," she pointed out.

He just shrugged. Tomorrow, she'd be leaving for who knew how long, and it was with this thought that Sakura realised something.

"Aaww, you're going to miss me."

**.:.**


	2. Welcome to Suna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumour has it that the new Kazekage is difficult to please and can't be trusted. Unable to confirm or deny this, the Hokage decides to send his best friend to test Gaara. Naruto had it all figured out: Sakura plus seduction equals one very *satisfied* Kazekage. AUish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya.  
> This is not canon. The events that led to this fic were substantially different—that includes the fact that Gaara and Sakura only met ONCE, and fleetingly.  
> Enjoy. ^_^

…  
Chapter Two: Welcome to Suna.  
...

The sun was setting, a tiny spark still visible as the last of the visitors ambled up to the main entrance into Sunagakure. They arrived in a cavalcade from the land of iron for the Shinobi on guard duty to inspect. A group of civilians being escorted by samurai in a heat they weren't used to was nothing to get excited about, as it was hot enough already, but occasionally, Kami decided to send them something _delectable_ with the newest arrivals.

"Can I carry your bags miss?"

The sound of the ANBU's voice startled the semi-petite civilian near the head of the cavalcade. She had short, straight black hair (it brushed the back of her neck), _very_ dark blue eyes—almost black—and wore the traditional courtier outfit of the land of iron. He could see clearly that was where she was from, but as his hidden eyes took in her slight (albeit nicely shaped) form, she shivered involuntarily. If she could see his eyes, she imagined they would be heavily lidded. Wasn't that incredibly unprofessional? The girl shook her head quickly at his question, reflexively gripping the strap of her bag tighter than necessary.

"What's your name?" He asked gently.

"Sayuri," She said softly, and squeaked when the Shinobi prodded her.

It wasn't all show—she was restraining from pummelling him and that sort of self-control came with a fair amount of involuntary sounds. Her instinct was to throttle, threaten, and _enjoy_ it; she couldn't do that here. The last time someone had touched her without permission, they'd ended up _just_ missing the hospital and landing a good half a mile away once she was done with them.

"Sayuri?" The man drawled, indicating she should elaborate.

"Sayuri Nakayama," she replied quickly.

"Where are you from?" He asked.

It was a stupid question really, considering her _entourage_.

"Iron," she mumbled, lowering her eyes to stare at the kunai in the man's hand. He was spinning it around in his hand almost languidly, just poking and prodding her for information, like it was the most common thing for a complete stranger to do. Her eyes moved up his arm, resting on his face and she realised he must be watching her closely under that dog mask.

Now, Sakura Haruno considered herself a good liar—she'd had her fair share of missions where it was necessary—but the way he was standing, almost like a predator (and less like an uptight or even aloof ANBU), one would think she was dangerous. It made her worry that he was seeing straight through her lies.

"Sayuri Nakayama," he repeated. "I'll remember that."

_Oh Kami._

He was checking her out, not evaluating her cover story. She really had no idea whether or not ANBU were supposed to hit on civilians.

"I'll be off-duty tonight," he continued. "There's this great club off the civilian district called The Zephyr: I'll see you there?"

She wasn't here for him, not even remotely, but she wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to gather information from a very eager sand Shinobi. She smiled at him, taking in the delicate features of his porcelain mask. "And how will I know it's you?"

"I'll call you… my petal."

"She's unavailable," came a slightly gruff reply from behind the girl. The man was tall, sporting a nodachi on his belt and narrowing his dark eyes at the ANBU.

"Oh," Sakura said, giggling in a nervous tone. "This is my brother, Hayato Nakayama."

"A samurai?" The guard asked, appraising the man; he was indeed wearing an insignia that marked him as a samurai, but he wore civilian clothes.

"Retired," Hayato said dismissively. "Caught Sayuri here in bed with a noble and I hacked the man's balls off for touching her, so they gave me a dishonourable discharge."

The unnamed ANBU guard baulked, now gripping his kunai tighter as though afraid this Hayato might suddenly decide to attack him. He swallowed heavily and squeaked out a hurried "welcome to Suna" before waving them through the checkpoint.

**...**

Sakura wasn't sure what to feel about that display, but she kept quiet as Tenzou broke them away from the caravan and without so much as a word, headed straight for the nearest apartment block to the Kazekage's administration building. The civilians travelling with them were just passing through and had agreed to let them tag along as far as Suna—they said their goodbyes. And if she didn't know that Tenzou had arranged for an apartment, she'd be worried about finding somewhere to live, let alone at such short notice—she hated hotels. In her mission briefing with Shikamaru, the lazy Jounin had informed her of the length girls, women, and men alike went to in order to get close to Gaara Sabaku.

Tears, tantrums, bribery, blackmail, stalking… it was actually quite terrifying.

Sensing an argument coming the moment the door to their room closed behind them, Tenzou covered Sakura's mouth with his hand and shook his head; he waited for her to give a reluctant nod before tentatively letting go of her. What was he up to now?

She stole the larger bedroom as Tenzou prowled his way through the apartment, doing Kami knew what.

There was no deadline on this mission, but Naruto _had_ stressed the need to Sakura not to take her time. They needed to know if Gaara would turn on them if Sasuke, or any of their many and sundry enemies were to attack them, and any and all possible paths to that destination _had_ to be taken into consideration.

She sighed, exiting her bedroom in time to see Tenzou fluffing out a couch cushion unnecessarily and moving to the coffee table to methodically rearrange the magazines provided there. Great, she was now living with a neat freak. She had never known that the captain was this meticulous. Just like with civilians, ninja were not neat or messy by job description alone. Naruto was naturally messy, and Kakashi was tidy and organised (the only messes made by his clothes and other linen), while Sai was a mixture of both. Sakura had spent a few nights at the ex-Root's place before (he'd roped her into sitting still long enough to be sketched, when she didn't have the patience to remain for him to _paint_ her), and while most rooms were practically immaculate, his studio was far from it. He was a messy artist, at least when at home.

Tenzou was in a league of his own.

Sakura watched him comb the small apartment, arranging, rearranging, and checking for dust mites… he didn't even look up at her when she scoffed at him. He opened, closed, paused and then opened cupboards again, only to shut them and move onto the fridge—she was suspicious enough, but even more so when he didn't pick out anything to eat.

"What are you doing?" She asked, when he finally exited a door down the hallway away from the bedrooms, clearly more satisfied than one should be when leaving a bathroom.

"I was making sure there were no bugs," he said simply. "Keeping up appearances of being a neat freak is a cover I use often—it's habit now too."

Sakura felt so stupid. "Oh… right."

This whole undercover business was _not_ alien to her, since she'd done this enough times. But she suddenly felt like a rookie with less than a handful under her belt. And it grated on her that she'd forgotten such a basic rule of covert missions: _never assume no-one's watching_. Or listening in, really. She throttled an image of Naruto in her head for creating this mission, as well as one of herself for accepting it. But there was no going back now.

"What the hell was that with the ANBU outside Suna's main entrance all that about?" She asked, her voice slightly higher as she tried to regain some of her dignity. "Since when does your cover include threatening Suna guards with bodily harm if they come anywhere near me?"

Tenzou just shrugged. "The overprotective big brother thing is natural for me, and in case you've forgotten, I've used the persona of Hayato Nakayama before; he doesn't mess about thank you very much." He gave what she considered an uncharacteristic grunt to prove his point and returned to his bedroom, closing the door behind him like he really was her big brother.

Sakura couldn't help the smile on her face as she made her way back to her own. It shouldn't surprise her that Tenzou had thought this through—from his suggestion that they pretend to have grown up in the land of iron, to him retaking an old cover of a retired samurai. Supposedly, when Samurai were dishonourably discharged, their names were struck off of official records—this made it easier for someone like Tenzou to impersonate one. The downside was that he'd had to become an expert in samurai culture, traditions, fighting style… the list went on. But it was worth it to have a stable cover identification that he could fall back on during these types of missions.

Sakura, for her part, had decided to take a civilian cover; it was the easier persona for her to settle into at such short notice.

Their intelligence placed the Kazekage's mansion as a thoroughfare for office assistants and having "assisted" Tsunade more times than she could count, Sakura was sure she'd be perfect for the recent job opening. But there was nagging doubt in her head: even though she wasn't depicted as a ninja, and the Shinobi in this village believed she came from the Land of Iron, there was no way she'd be chosen as the Kazekage's personal assistant—the risk she was some foreign spy would prevent that. But Shikamaru had said they were getting desperate—apparently, Temari kept firing the new recruits for paying too much attention to her brother's lips, hair, eyes… body. They weren't doing their jobs properly, if at all.

Sakura supposed she didn't _need_ to convince them to hire her to get into the building, but she'd brought a fake résumé with her, nonetheless. It had taken her _forever_ to fix it up, considering she couldn't put any real referees on it, but twelve hours and ten pots of coffee later, she finally finished her masterpiece. Naruto hadn't been exaggerating about her proficiency when it came to paperwork.

_Naruto._

She still didn't know what that baka had been hiding from her. Sakura sighed, grabbed her toiletries and decided on a shower; she'd heard the plumbing here was pitiful compared to Konoha, and wasn't disappointed. After screaming obscenities for almost ten minutes, she finally emerged and ignored the chuckles from her companion who had exited his room and plopped himself on the couch lazily. Sometimes he reminded her of Kakashi—despite their differences of opinions on how to run a successful mission. They'd apparently been on missions together years ago and despite the distance between them since Kakashi left ANBU (though Tenzou was out of there now anyhow), had always held a high respect for each other.

Making a mental note to query her "brother" about that later, Sakura closed her door before realising she'd just walked past Tenzou clad in only her towel. No wonder he'd looked at her like she'd grown an extra head.

Sakura slid the towel off of her body and stared at herself in the full-length mirror. Her body was toned, but she wasn't some muscled Kunoichi—she trained sure, but had never gained much muscle, not really. The thought of being a bulked-up ninja (an image Ino had plastered all over her mind when they were both ten years old) had kept her conscientious about it anyway.

She peered closer, looking into the reflection of her eyes; pools of dark blue (almost black) stared back at her. She knew she was wearing contacts, but they glinted up close, hinting at the jade orbs hidden within. Somehow, they still looked like her eyes.

She avoided anything chakra based on setting up her appearance, keeping it as natural as possible. She used herbs to shift her scent; a smell that her original scent could merge with. It seemed to come off as natural enough (courtesy of Kakashi, but her idea). Her hair was coloured with a mordant dye (a type of self-indulgence that was a well-known, though slightly out-dated in other lands, fad in the land of iron for young woman), her fingernails were slightly longer than what was practical for a Kunoichi, and she had put up with Ino's fussing until she perfected a new "walk". The side effect of her elite, Jounin status was that she naturally walked lighter and with a slightly predatory move that hinted to her training: she had civilian friends and used them as inspiration to circumvent the more obvious traits.

She was confident it had worked.

She shook herself, reaching for a simple, dark red slink of a dress she'd bought especially for this occasion, and she was just slipping into it when her _brother's_ voice carried down the hall and into her room.

"Sayuri?" Tenzou called out, and Sakura realised she had indeed been quiet long enough for him to be concerned. Even in their apartment, they had to keep up appearances; she wasn't Sakura anymore after all.

"Hayato," she answered, grabbing her purse, slipping on some shoes and walking out of her bedroom.

"I thought you were going to sulk all night," Tenzou said, smirking.

"I'm heading out," she said.

"Are you going out alone?"

Sakura waited for him to offer to come with her. But he just smiled at her.

"Obviously," she snapped, and without waiting for a response, strode out of the apartment.

Seriously, _what_ was Tenzou's part in this mission? _She_ had two objectives to begin with. One: head over to that night club—The Zephyr, or whatever it was called—and squeeze out whatever information she could. And two: get some sort of job that would put her in spitting distance of the Kazekage (or the council, either one). But tonight, was all about the former. That ANBU might have been scared off by Tenzou's typically domineering personality, but there were more where he came from.

**...**

After a few days of wading through the Shinobi in The Zephyr, Sakura came up empty. None of them were the one who'd greeted her at the gates, and none of the ones left seemed willing to do anything except dance and drink with her before _casually_ suggesting she go back to their place.

Idiots; like she would ever.

However, they were very forthcoming when it came to job opportunities. That was how she was finally permitted a job interview with the Kazekage one week on from arriving in Suna. _Finally_ , she was allowed to go near him, and her real mission could begin. As Tenzou scouted out the dojos, making friends in the way only a gruff, ex-Samurai could, Sakura nervously made her way to the Kazekage's administration building. There were so many ways all her planning could come crashing down around her. She did of course, the only thing she could do; she held her head high and knocked on the door, only to have to wait a full ten minutes, in the heat of the unforgiving sun before being allowed inside. The man who let her in was ANBU and escorted her to the top level outside Gaara's office saying "wait out here and don't make a sound until you're called for" before using Shunshin to leave her standing there alone.

Fortunately, Sakura didn't have to wait much longer before the door to Gaara's office slammed open, almost coming off its hinges.

"Get off my brother you lecherous whore!"

The scream startled Sakura out of her reverie and she clutched her folder tighter, hugging it to her chest. What the hell was going on in here?

A red headed girl came tumbling out of the room before Sakura could step in front of it. Her hair was a mess, her clothes askew and the girl was so startled that she didn't notice she had an audience; she was flustered, a little annoyed and yet trembling like she'd just been accosted by a hoard of naked old perverts. Almost immediately, a buxom blonde with four pigtails and brandishing an iron fan, stormed into the hallway and Sakura flushed slightly, flashing back to that mission briefing with Shikamaru.

"Watch out for Temari," he'd warned her. "She's protective of Gaara, and if anyone's going to question who you really are, it's her. That woman is so troublesome."

Sakura wasn't scared of the older sister of the Kazekage; she could hold her own. But she wasn't sure how to pull off that "you can't touch this" vibe as a civilian. It suddenly occurred to her that she was far out of her league—she had quite a number of covert missions under her belt, but none dealing with people she'd already met. The last one had almost killed her because she didn't know enough about them, thanks to some bad intelligence from the land of rivers.

_I'm not a victim,_ she thought, repeating the mantra a few times as Temari moved threateningly toward the trembling girl she'd just chased out of the Kazekage's office—the young civilian looked all of fifteen years old, and terrified as she gave a squeak of fear. Sakura barely had time to sidestep out of the way as the petite red head barrelled down the hallway, toward the exit and freedom.

"And don't come back!" The blonde Kunoichi screamed.

Sakura held her breath, trying to disappear into the wallpaper. Seriously, this woman held no sway over her hammering heart... She remembered the last time she'd seen her, Temari had been all smiles and warmth. But right now, she looked like one glare from her could make a hoard of rhino stampede… in the _opposite_ direction.

_Get a grip Sakura; you're a Kunoichi, so start acting like one._

Except she wasn't one right now, and this terrifying side of Temari apparently scared any and all civilians, not to mention Shinobi who wanted to be able to actually pleasure a woman. Sakura inhaled deeply, calming herself. This was what Shikamaru had warned her about, and she needed to get her head back on the mission.

"Fucking _slut_ ," Temari mumbled. "That'll teach you not to grope the Kazekage."

The blonde, who Sakura had recognised immediately as Temari, Gaara's older sister, turned to look at her. For a moment, her dark eyes narrowed, like she recognised her; she looked startled, and it took a full ten seconds for her to fully grasp the concept that this was a complete stranger and she lost the startled expression. Temari's eyes flickered over the folder in Sakura's hands, back up to her face and then it dawned on her. Her lips twisted into an evil grin.

"Next victim."

**…**

**XXX**

**...**


	3. Up Close and Personal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumour has it that the new Kazekage is difficult to please and can't be trusted. Unable to confirm or deny this, the Hokage decides to send his best friend to test Gaara. Naruto had it all figured out: Sakura plus seduction equals one very *satisfied* Kazekage. AUish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gaara's new jutsu was a whimsical addition. But it works. :)

…  
Chapter Three: Up Close and Personal.  
...

"I think you should fuck that one," Kankuro said, pointing shamelessly to a blonde girl who looked barely out of her teens.

Gaara snorted: that was the stupidest thing his brother had said so far, and Kankuro had said some pretty dumb things over the past hour. " _No_ ," he said gruffly.

"Seriously Gaara, what's the point of being Kazekage if you don't take advantage of it?"

"I'm looking for a receptionist, not a lover."

Kankuro laughed. "Yeah, right."

"Temari's scared another one off."

Gaara had created a jutsu that allowed others to see what he saw when he activated his third eye and was currently employing it so they could both watch their sister scare the pants off the girls out in the hallway. It made the image larger, but slightly fuzzy; it had been a battle bred technique, but Kankuro was the type of sibling that whined until he got what he wanted. That was why Gaara relented; the best analogy for this was a portable television.

Kankuro snorted. "I think she's just thinning the herd."

But Gaara didn't mind: the last three she'd chased out had been dressed like they were auditioning for Suna's skankiest hoe, rather than sorting through tedious paperwork. He appreciated that each and every girl sitting out there was an interesting specimen of the female body, but this was not the time and place for that. He wasn't a prude, just picky.

His sister was prowling up and down the line, randomly telling one or more to leave before she wrung their "pretty little neck". The ones who bravely faced her thinking that might endear them to her, or the redhead they were really here for, were forcibly removed from the building in such a way that the other girls had started visibly shaking in fear. Every girl out there was at least an hour early for their respective interviews, and there was only one person who hadn't shown up yet.

Kankuro hadn't noticed this however, his eyes raking the bodies waiting out there, not counting the heads.

There was a loud screech, followed by a thumping sound and before Gaara could have the next girl who wasn't quite so scantily clad brought in, Kankuro shunshined out of the room obediently. Some of the girls had experience, so the Kazekage decided to give them a go—he asked questions, their eyes travelled over his body, he tested them, and as was predicted, they made mistakes.

After the dramatic exit of a now dishevelled fifteen-year-old red head (the last of the girls that hadn't been chased off by Temari before they could even enter the office), Gaara sighed, almost defeated. This was going nowhere. His brother re-entered the office, chuckling. "Temari's having more fun than you are."

"That was never not going to happen."

"I liked that blonde one," Kankuro said, whistling. "Do you mind if I tap that?"

Gaara didn't respond, just frowning; he was watching the next applicant, through his third eye. From the moment she'd been let in the building, he'd been watching her; arriving at a more appropriate time, this one was suitably dressed, though obviously frightened by his sister's tactics (it frightened _him_ a little, not that he'd ever admit it), and wore no ostensive makeup. She looked professional.

Surprising.

He looked down at the paperwork in front of him: her name was Sayuri Nakayama, hailing from the land of iron. She'd only recently moved here, which wasn't something he was too comfortable with, but it explained why she wasn't dressed like a harlot. Perhaps she wanted this job for the right reasons?

"Hm."

Kankuro peered through the sand eye jutsu, and then read the dossier over his brother's shoulder. As was expected by someone as high ranking as the Kazekage, Gaara had taken the time to research all of his potential receptionists. While a handful of them had filing and sorting experience, only one knew, for example, the difference between Rank A and Rank C when it came to village-wide alert status.

"She's cute," Kankuro commented. "But she doesn't show off enough—" He broke off as Gaara's sand hit his stomach, and then gasped. "O-okay, I'll l-leave you alone with her." He teleported out.

Gaara restrained from chuckling, turning his attention now, to what was going on outside his office.

Temari's eyes flickered over the folder in Sakura's hands, back up to her face and then it dawned on her. Her lips twisted into an evil grin.

"Next victim."

For what seemed like an eternity, the blonde just stared at the girl in front of her. Implying pain and suffering was, at times, as bad as actually following through on said threat. Temari's eyes glinted as she raked Sakura, thinking this just another civilian, showing without acting, just how much she wanted to eviscerate her. It was a scare tactic that the Konoha Kunoichi was personally familiar with—she did it to Naruto often enough. It was terrifying.

"Temari, stop blocking the door and let her in."

Sakura almost let down her façade, realising she hadn't heard Gaara's voice in years. It was so strange to hear it drift through the half open door as though he was standing next to her and not over ten feet away. It was huskier than she remembered.

Remembering she had legs, Sakura walked toward the door, not looking toward the Kazekage as his sand shot up and closed the door, deliberately locking Temari out of the room.

"Miss Nakayama," Gaara said politely. "Please come further in—I won't bite you."

Sakura nodded lamely and moved toward his desk; there was no chair provided, but she didn't complain. She finally looked at him, the feel of his eyes on her drawing her attention. He'd grown into his good looks, that was for sure, and once where she admitted he was cute, he was now absolutely gorgeous. His hair was a slightly darker shade of crimson, his face leaner, having lost his child-like appeal (it was more like _captivating_ now). She struggled to look him in the eye; he was calm and collected, looking her over, while she was trembling inside. No doubt, she looked as nervous as she felt.

Sakura cleared her throat and bowed appropriately. "Kazekage-sama, thank-you for seeing me."

His eyes drifted to the paperwork in front of him, not really taking in much other than the list of administration skills. He was making her nervous, this was obvious; she was flushed, avoiding eye contact and leaving it up to him to carry the conversation. He didn't want the person he finally decided on, to be his secretary, scared of him. There was a better way to do this. In a flash, he was out of his chair and standing in front of her. He watched her eyes widen, her hands tremble, and the folder in her arms pressed firmly against her chest.

"I've read your file," he said, his voice deep. "But now I want to know the _real_ you."

His hand shot up, not too fast, not too slow; his fingers danced over her arm. Sakura had chosen to wear something closer to the kind of clothes worn by receptionists in Sakata—the innocuous town Tenzou's samurai cover had claimed he was from originally, that she'd incorporated into her own. No matter where _Hayato's_ duties had taken him, _Sayuri_ was a hometown kind of girl. The uniform was an offshoot: stringent on the grey and red colours.

Currently, Gaara's fingers seemed interested in the material of her thin blouse (it was red while the vest was grey—not fashionable, but at least predictable for a civilian who took her job seriously). A flash of something along the lines of intrigue registered on his face before he leant in closer to her. His face was two inches from hers as he cocked his head to the side, smirking slightly. Sakura felt like she suddenly weighed a tonne; her legs threatened to give way and she was struggling to breathe. What the _hell_ was the Kazekage doing?

His mouth went to her ear and he whispered, "I want to know what you _feel_ like."

Gaara was coming onto her; Sakura froze up, suddenly scared. His lips trailed down her now heated flesh, reaching the pulse point; his fingers pushed aside the collar of her blouse to get at her and she hugged the folder tighter to her chest at the dizzying sensation of his tongue on her bare skin.

_What do I do?_

On one hand, she needed him right where he was, running his hands along her arm and licking her pulse point. But on the other hand, they'd just met; and she wasn't entirely sure whether this was a dream or a nightmare. The last girl that came this way was scared off by Temari; the idea of the oldest Sabaku brandishing her iron fan at Sakura with intent to maim sent shivers down her spine. That redheaded fifteen-year-old girl had apparently _groped_ Gaara.

_I'm not groping him._

And she wasn't this easy, mission or no mission.

_Pull away Sakura…_ She repeated the mantra, having trouble with the actual execution part of that plan.

"Kaze‒" She tried to put her thoughts into coherent words, willing her body to stop trembling, but it fell apart when Gaara purred. He _purred_! And it was his turn to speak; the words that fell out of his mouth as easy as breathing literally took her breath away. Her face must've turned beet red—it certainly _felt_ like it had. But along with the embarrassment, and the part of her that was _tantalised_ by this very forward Kazekage, she was also suddenly angry. Violent fantasies invaded her mind and she had to hold herself back from hitting him. She took a deep breath.

_This has to be covered in workplace sexual harassment policies,_ she thought distractedly.

If Tsunade could see her now, the woman would be chanting "take him on the desk, you fool". But she couldn't—no, she _wouldn't_ —leave him here today with the impression that she was a slut. Besides, the mission didn't dictate she had to act like some barnyard whore: it wasn't really her style anyway. Sakura closed her eyes, inwardly lamented at what she was about to do, and took a hasty step away from the Kazekage. Immediately, the heat radiating through her body disappeared and she looked up into surprised pools of light green.

"Kazekage-sama," she said softly, trying to retain as much of her dignity as she could. "That was completely _wrong_."

No matter how _good_ it had felt. Gaara's expression quickly changed and she saw the relief.

What the hell?

He returned to his position behind his desk and watched her attempts to recover. There was only one explanation for his seemingly irrational actions.

It was a test. It was a test. It was a test…

She let out a deep sigh, unable to hide her relief. Oh, thank Kami. And it all suddenly made sense—the Kazekage had more admirers than a candy store. Of course, he was testing her! And not for the first time, she felt wholly inadequate in this game they were playing. Sakura attempted to appear less ruffled than what she was feeling, frowning at her prospective employer and feeling a little of her old self filter through as she glared at him.

He chuckled at her. "You're wrong about that, it was very good."

_Oh god, shut up!_

But she just sighed, straightening her blouse unnecessarily. He gave her a slight smile that looked almost as fake as the ones Sai used to deliver on a daily basis; except this one didn't morph his entire face like the artist's so-called smiles tended to do. It was more like an un-cheeky smirk. She wasn't sure how else to describe it.

"You're hired."

Sakura had a sudden, uncontrollable flashback to when she was still a Genin and Kakashi's words after their bell test. Gaara's "you're hired" echoed "you pass" and she inwardly shuddered at the comparison. Both tests had been delivered by a _special_ brand of psycho.

_Fuck._

**...**

Temari gave her the evil eye when she was finally allowed back in the room, making no attempts to hide her dislike of the woman her brother had chosen. Sakura had to keep reminding herself that she was just being an overprotective big sister, and while this was personal, she was also a rational human being. She'd get over it eventually.

Immediately after being told she was hired, Sakura let out an involuntary yelp as Kankuro appeared out of nowhere. The puppet master proceeded to run down her responsibilities, the "shake down" as he put it, of her job description, and took her on a tour of the building. She was shown the emergency exits, where the tearoom and bathroom respectively, she was allowed to use were; Sakura took it all in silently. Kankuro even jumped behind the desk she would be using and printed out a copy of her hours, Gaara's schedule (he made her pinkie promise not to tell his brother she was getting that right away), and a layout of the building in case she ever got lost.

He was sweet, and for that, she was grateful; at least it was only one Sabaku sibling with her name on their "must kill" list. If she'd really been a civilian, she might've wondered why Gaara didn't just hire his siblings part-time—Kankuro looked like a natural behind that desk. It did occur to her however, that maybe a man instead of some random girl who might try to glomp him, would even be better. But she didn't ask; she supposed he had his reasons.

The words he'd whispered in her ear during his "test" made her blush inexplicably and served to explain, at least on some level, why he didn't mind a woman hanging around his office all day.

Kankuro finished the tour, told her that she could go home for now—apparently, Gaara would be in a meeting with the council for the rest of the day—and to have everything he needed ready by nine o'clock the next morning.

Tenzou was waiting for her when she came back. She started visibly shaking the moment the door closed behind her and Sakura let out a longwinded sigh. He could see the frustration building up in her, and again, the wood master wondered _why_ Naruto had chosen her specifically for this mission.

"Sakura."

His voice startled her, and she started. "Haya‒"

"Drop the façade," Tenzou said. "Just let it go for a moment; this place is free of bugs and I've placed chakra detectors around both the building and the apartment itself. Just tell me what's wrong Sakura; straight up."

Sakura wasn't comfortable with this, but there was no-one else she could talk to about this. Treading carefully, she inched into the apartment, stopping at the coffee table and plopping down on the couch with a soft hiccupping sound.

"Hm." She sighed. "I wasn't expecting the Kazekage to come onto me."

There, she said it.

Tenzou chuckled. "Sorry," he added, when she glared at him. "But it's funny."

"It is not!"

Now he was laughing at her.

"It's not funny!" Sakura waited for him to stop laughing, but he kept going. The Tenzou she knew wasn't this jovial. What the hell was his problem?

He calmed down when she lost her infuriated look. "Sorry Sakura, but it _is_ funny. Continue."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "As long as you promise not to laugh."

He crossed his heart and she rolled her eyes. "Promise."

She took a deep breath and told him everything. "He startled the shit out of me, asking to be _stroked_!"

Tenzou's eyes widened. "And what did you do?"

That had been too forward, even for someone as tactless as the Kazekage.

Sakura bristled. "I _wanted_ to kick his arse from here to Konoha!"

"But you didn't."

"Of course not," she snapped, barely listening to him. "What kind of ninja do you take me for?"

"Honestly? I'd have thought a smart one," he said. Sakura growled dangerously at him and he attempted to explain. "You didn't realise him coming onto you was his way of testing you, to make sure you weren't some random fangirl?"

"I knew he was testing me."

"Before, during, or after?"

Sakura growled. "After."

Tenzou bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing again. "Well, I'm glad you're in one piece. Temari's a strong woman, and if she'd caught you in that compromising position…"

Sakura shuddered at the thought. "Shikamaru warned me, but I have to say, she's a lot scarier than I remember."

"Well, you had no reason to fear her then, and she was probably a little intimidated herself."

"Huh?"

Tenzou shrugged his shoulders. "You have a temper, super strength, and the legendary slug queen as your mentor."

Sakura shook her head. "She wasn't intimidated by me."

He fell silent, replaying what she'd told him in his head. There was something in it, that wasn't quite adding up. Tenzou frowned. "Uh, Sakura?"

"Hm?"

"What did Naruto tell you about the Kazekage?"

Sakura shrugged. "Just that he's not in a relationship, that he knew, and some ridiculous idea that I was going to catch his eye immediately."

Tenzou tugged on the edge of her shirt absentmindedly. "Anything else?"

"No, why?"

"Because he's definitely set you up, Sakura."

"Huh?" She'd accused Naruto of not telling her everything, but from the moment he suggested the mission to the last time she'd seen him before leaving, Sakura hadn't been able to get any more out of him. It was Shikamaru who'd told her the only thing useful regarding Gaara—don't touch his sand without permission.

"Rumours that he's an incorrigible flirt only heighten his popularity," Tenzou said, sighing deeply, and wondering whether or not Naruto had a death wish—she was going to _kill_ him when they got back. "Everyone I talk to says there have been girls he's invited into his bedroom before. I'd say, knowing he likes the occasional romp gives them hope that they'll be next: or that he'll finally settle down and choose between all his gushing fans for a wife."

Everything was suddenly coming into focus. These girls weren't fawning over the Kazekage hoping for a smile or some kind of indication he knows they exist they're in it for the long haul. The stakes were high if every one of these women (and men, regardless of sexual preference) were waiting for him to choose a wife.

It sounded ridiculous though (not that she could talk, being a former Sasuke Uchiha fangirl), and Sakura couldn't help but wonder what those rumours said about his uh… _performance_. She blushed slightly, turning her head in an attempt to hide it from Tenzou. The man was happily leaning back on his end of the couch, waiting for her to start the conversation up again.

She'd wondered if the heat, the attention, and having to constantly be on guard for the next random fangirl had finally driven the Kazekage mad. The way Gaara had come onto her, his words both before and after she'd pulled away… yeah, there was a definite pattern.

Sakura cleared her throat. "So… what you're saying is that he really did enjoy what he did to me?"

Tenzou nodded silently and Sakura inhaled sharply. There was only one explanation, and according to the wood master, Naruto had known all along: the Kazekage was a pervert.

"Look on the bright side," Tenzou said, patting her arm in an obnoxiously brotherly way. "At least he'll be easier to seduce this way."

Sakura let out a groan in both frustration and embarrassment and buried her head in her hands.

**…**

**XXX**

**...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No: Gaara isn't a man whore. Lotsa love! ^_^


	4. Watching You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumour has it that the new Kazekage is difficult to please and can't be trusted. Unable to confirm or deny this, the Hokage decides to send his best friend to test Gaara. Naruto had it all figured out: Sakura plus seduction equals one very *satisfied* Kazekage. AUish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While writing this, originally, I kept forgetting that the colour I like most as reference to Gaara's eyes is aqua. Gotta remember that. Enjoy. ^_^

…  
Chapter Four: Watching You.  
...

As it turned out, the Kazekage's administration building had no fangirls… whatsoever. Job applications for the position of personal assistant to the Kazekage aside, the place was devoid of anything that remotely resembled giggling, star struck stalkers. Sakura imagined they had their own pen, on the other side of the village, where someone like Kankuro went to give them their daily "feeding". The mental images made her giggle and she quickly covered her mouth, looking around to make sure she was alone. Sitting behind her desk, she was glad the week was almost over—as much as she was enjoying this job, she needed to get out of here for longer than an overnight in her apartment.

It got lonely after a while; this place kind of creeped her out, too.

Tenzou was driving her mad too, with all the questioning: "Have you screwed him against your desk yet?" "Are you going to give him a _personal_ check-up?" "Do you want me to find out his favourite sex position?" The ridiculous questions went on, but she knew he was just teasing. And when he wasn't joking around, he was reminding her, rather obnoxiously, that they didn't have all year to do this.

Sakura felt like a yo-yo: on one hand, her "brother" was treating her like a child, and on the other, her "employer" couldn't decide between ignoring her and openly staring. He was checking her out, obviously trying to figure her out; his true intentions were hidden behind those guarded looks he gave her. One moment he was seemingly content, pretending she was just another piece of furniture when she came into his office, and the next he went stonily quiet, appraising her with barely contained fascination.

It made her think he thought this was a game.

So, she decided to play this smart. Taking Shikamaru's advice, she'd done her best to steer clear of Temari—though she was beginning to think that woman could see through walls—but the blonde wasn't so easily side-tracked. She didn't like her and didn't hold back; there was no direct attack on her person, but Sakura found herself having to go the long way to her desk because Temari would sometimes deliberately block the most direct route. With Gaara's warning, she didn't have the authority to dismiss her, but had apparently scared the last three receptionists Gaara had hired so bad that they'd either left Suna altogether or hadn't been seen anywhere near any ninja building since.

Still, things were a little better on the "seducing the Kazekage" front. Not perfect, but better.

Sakura hadn't been lying when she told Naruto she was not some kind of seductress, but that blonde baka had set her up, knowing the rumours outside of Suna about him being something akin to asexual, were completely false. It made her wonder if the other things Naruto had said were true. What had he said?

" _He loves mysterious women."_

Right and apparently, she was baffling enough without having taken on an alter ego—internal, freaking insane doppelgängers notwithstanding. Sakura scrunched her eyes closed, picturing herself throttling the Hokage.

_You are so dead when I get home, Naruto._

Having taken his words to heart, she did however, quickly find the Kazekage watching her. It was the reason Gaara gave her those sidelong glances. And now, at the end of the week, he was ogling her covertly every time she walked by, without her having to even enter his office. She didn't want to push her luck though, especially since she'd discovered that that redhead who'd groped him during those ridiculous excuses for interviews hadn't actually instigated anything with him.

It made sense.

Sakura ran her forefinger across her pulse point absentmindedly; Gaara had touched her, whispered things that made her blush and explored the junction between her neck and shoulders with his tongue. If he'd done anything even remotely like that to a fangirl… well, of course the crazy girl had responded inappropriately.

The women that Sakura encountered who actually _did_ work here however, were polite, appropriately dressed, and inviting. This entire week had been an eye opener.

It started out as some kind of practical joke.

At least, she hoped it was.

What had first seemed like a weird but doable mission turned into the most embarrassing job interview of her entire ninja career. Sakura Haruno A.K.A Sayuri Nakayama, was a studious, and highly efficient receptionist, but working for Tsunade had never been a full-time thing. She'd sorted the fifth Hokage's paperwork, run errands, organised, delegated, and filled in for Shizune when she was away or unwell… but working for Gaara was very different again.

And what was the joke? As it turned out, Naruto had been _right_ : she was perfect for this job. It still reminded her of all those times she picked up after Tsunade however, though she seriously doubted Gaara would ever end the day drunk, passed out on his desk and mumbling "fuck you cranky bastards" in his sleep, among other things.

A drunken Tsunade was always entertaining, unconscious or not.

"Sayuri-san?"

Sakura snapped out of her reverie at the sound of the familiar voice. The woman's name was Yoshiko Mori—Shizune's age, she'd guess. The first woman in this entire building to speak to Sakura (Temari didn't count), Yoshiko was the personal assistant to one of the councillors and had been for years. If Sakura remembered correctly, the man's name was Shin.

"Yoshiko-san, can I help you?"

"The papers for the upcoming meet with the daimyo," Yoshiko said, placing a manila folder in Sakura's waiting hands. "Shin-Sensei wishes the Kazekage-sama to look at them immediately."

"The bottom of the pile then," Sakura joked, and the woman chuckled slightly.

Her personality actually reminded Sakura of Shizune: so much so that she knew she could joke about something like that and Yoshiko would just wave it away. When the dark-haired woman didn't immediately walk away, like every other time she'd dropped off something important for Gaara (or picked up), Sakura gave her a curious smile and Yoshiko obliged.

"Apparently, the rumour is that you're from one of the larger civilian villages in Iron."

The curiosity in her voice surprised Sakura—this was the first time the woman had expressed an interest in her background. Sakura nodded her head however, fingering the manila folder meant for Gaara thoughtfully.

"Sakata is large; larger than any other village I've seen, other than this one of course."

"Oh? How many is that?"

_What is this, an interrogation?_

"A few."

"I miss travelling," Yoshiko said wistfully.

"You're not from Suna either?"

"Oh, I am. I'm a retired Kunoichi."

Ninja didn't retire according to age—the only things restricted to Shinobi via age were alcohol, gambling, and sex. Sakura had treated forty-year old's who were fit as a fiddle, and yet a week before Naruto had given her this insane mission, her prognosis had ended the career of a twenty-two-year-old. It was one of those jobs where, time really was an illusion.

"You must have seen a lot."

Sakura indulged her as Yoshiko talked about a mission to mist that had started as an A rank but was quickly reduced to B when their quarry turned out to be bandits rather than rogue ninja.

"That was my last mission," she said. "Shortly afterward, I found out I was pregnant, and decided to give that life up."

"You have a—"

"Daughter; her name is Samara."

Sakura just nodded as she heard Gaara moving around in his office; the older woman noticed too and made to leave before the Kazekage caught her talking instead of doing her job. But Yoshiko looked over her shoulder as she left, and grinned. "I should have you over sometime next week: Samara-chan is an excellent cook."

Sakura returned the smile. "I would like that."

**...**

The giggling gaggle of girls standing outside The Zephyr as though waiting for permission to enter weren't dressed for this weather.

Sakura glanced at them as she passed by to enter the club; the brunette girl at the head of the group caught her eye, raking over the body of the former pinkette. She scrutinized her with critical eyes, and something Sakura recognised from Kunoichi all the time back in Konoha—a predatory challenge that screamed "I can kill you a thousand ways". The girl had all the signs of a ninja; she filed that information away just in case and continued inside the night club, not even hesitating as the brunette kept watching her.

She had more important fish to fry, so to speak.

It had been two weeks since her arrival in Suna, and exactly that long for him to approach her after that incident with Tenzou, and finally, barely five minutes after she'd entered the night club, Sakura's quarry made his move on her.

"Hello my petal."

_Ah, there he is,_ she thought, grinning inwardly.

Sakura hadn't forgotten the guard who'd cracked onto her when she first arrived in Suna. He was behind her; her skin tingled slightly at the sudden warmth, despite the fact that he wasn't actually touching her. She turned slowly, taking a half-hearted step away from him to avoid brushing against him. This ANBU was gorgeous; his hair was dark brown (almost black), and bright blue eyes twinkled mischievously at her, much like Naruto's did when he was being cheeky, but with an allure that painted him in the same category of a suave Kakashi.

"Shuin," he said immediately, when she started to wonder if she should ask him his name. "My name is Shuin."

"Real or code?" She asked.

"Real." He smirked and she was immediately and heavily reminded of Sasuke… now that she looked closer, he could definitely pass off as an Uchiha. "Can I get you a drink?"

She let him lead her toward the bar, and Sakura went over her plan in her head; she'd told Kankuro she was coming here, and although Gaara wasn't in the room at the time, she knew he'd heard her. There wasn't much of a chance of this happening overnight, but Sakura needed access to high level documents (for the Kazekage's eyes only type of scrolls) and Kami knew where the redhead kept them. If they were in his office, they were well hidden.

Tenzou had visited her during a few lunch breaks over the week—about the time Gaara _conveniently_ went "missing", and able to use his chakra without someone accusing him of being a ninja pretending to be a civilian, had placed some sensors nearby. He couldn't get into the office however, so it was all from outside. There didn't seem to be anything tucked away, just out of sight.

That left Gaara's home.

As much as Sakura hated to admit it (and liked it, really, considering Gaara was a very attractive man), she was going to have to earn herself a personal invite to the Kazekage's mansion. She wasn't going to get it by hanging around the office and pretending to enjoy deciding on what colour paper looked best coming out of the printer. After a week of seductive glances from the fifth Kazekage, she realised it was time to get more proactive.

"Your brother isn't here?" Shuin asked.

Sakura realised she'd let her thoughts wander; two hours after she'd arrived, her new drinking buddy had given her feet a break and suggested they settle onto one of the couches in a corner booth instead. The ANBU was running his fingers along her bare arm, just _looking_ at her. It sounded sleazy, but she was having a hard time trying to feel disgusted.

Sakura shook her head. "No, he doesn't much like the noise."

Somehow, shortly after Sakura spotted a few familiar faces in the crowd, her conversation with Shuin slipped inexplicably from whose turn it was to buy the next round to her preference in weapons… oh yeah, she was talking about the things she got up to that her "brother" wouldn't approve of.

"I prefer the nodachi," she said, her fingers brushing the weapon Shuin was hiding under his jacket.

He just smiled at her. "That's a difficult sword for someone who doesn't know how to handle it."

"I can handle it."

"Is that so?"

Sakura nodded, now looking into his eyes. "I learnt how to in a martial arts school in Sakata: we used _suburitō_ , in our training sessions."

A _suburitō_ , was a heavy wooden sword, and Sakura had only ever used one once, when she was visiting Tenten and the weapon's mistress had begged until she agreed to train with her—apparently, the rest of her team had been "busy" that day.

_Figures._

That girl went crazy with her weapons, no matter who her opponent was.

"I see you as more of a naginata kind of girl," Shuin added, interrupting her thoughts. "Do you know what—"

"A much more balanced weapon," she said slowly. "Better suited for combat I suppose, but I don't see combat."

"Of course," he said. "You're not a warrior?"

She shook her head and turned away from him to order another drink from a passing waitress. Sakura let her eyes drift toward the direction she knew Gaara and his siblings had been a few minutes ago. Temari and Kankuro were talking, with the blonde still glancing at "Sayuri" every now and then with a look of deep suspicion on her face—Kankuro looked happy regardless. The redhead was nearby also, and Sakura caught those aqua eyes in hers; he was expressionless, but his body language was tense, like he was annoyed with something.

After a moment of fighting her inner urge to just run over there and jump him, Sakura tore her eyes away and forced herself to listen to what Shuin was saying. The pale eyes of the Kazekage were still watching her: she could _feel_ that penetrating gaze of his. More than anything, she believed she intrigued him, but there was a definite, underlying _need_ she couldn't quite put her finger on. She had to remind herself that a dark-haired civilian from the land of iron who was attractive and yet not a fangirl, was interesting in and of itself.

Lust… that had to be it.

_I am not a pink haired Kunoichi with a temper and intimidating glare,_ she thought to herself, repeating it a few times just to remind herself.

The waitress who'd taken her previous order returned with a new glass and Sakura happily sat backwards, sticking her finger in the liquid and playing with the ice cubes. She knew very well, from drinking sessions with her shishou to nightclubbing with Ino, that she had a low tolerance for alcohol. It made her current situation more difficult, but not impossible. She'd learnt to drink without getting drunk, and Sakura had it practically down to an art. Firstly, she had ice with every drink, ordered a new drink before she'd finished her old one (promptly passing off the latter to a passing waitress), and of course, when the opportunity presented itself, she spilt it.

Even if Gaara had a way of detecting her chakra network, like the Byakugan, a sloshed woman wouldn't be a threat to him, _ever_.

She lifted her eyes to return the stare of the Kazekage again and bit her bottom lip; the effect was instantaneous, and she saw his eye twitch.

"Shuin," she said, not taking her eyes of the redhead across the room. "Stay here."

The more than tipsy ANBU agent dutifully did as he was told and watched as the object of his affections stood up and strode away. But Sakura didn't head for her true target—that would defeat the purpose of not playing fair in this game.

On the other side of the room, Kankuro's eyes widened as Sayuri moved toward the lowset stage—this club was popular because every now and then (they did it randomly, to keep people guessing), they let women who weren't employees, pole dance in the centre of a secondary stage. It was lowset so that it didn't distract from the main stage, where the _paid_ dancers entertained the crowd.

He let out a whistle: the girl could dance.

"I thought you said Sayuri wants to fuck Gaara," Kankuro whispered to his sister.

Temari sighed deeply as she watched the way the strange girl was dancing, the men around her cat calling and making not-so-subtle "come hither" motions to her. Several feet away, the ANBU she recognised as Shuin was watching like some lovesick puppy; she motioned to him and he obediently made his way over to her. She proceeded to sway her hips against him, teasing, inviting, and yet carefully guarded against his own pelvic movements.

"She's trying to make him jealous," Temari said, thinking that it was the only reason for the strange girl now coming onto that ANBU.

Kankuro chuckled, watching the way his baby brother's knuckles were gripping his chair, none too gently. "And it's _working_."

"It's not funny," Temari hissed at him. "The girl's trouble."

"Huh? What makes you say that?"

"She's just…" Temari bit her lip, drifting off. The truth was that there were no actual signs that this Sayuri wasn't who she said she was, but whenever she got near the girl, she got this overwhelming desire to protect Gaara from her. "She's hiding something," she finished lamely.

"And Gaara needs to get laid."

"Kankuro!" Temari hissed.

"What? It's true; it' about time he found someone new."

"It's weird," she insisted. "He's never been here before, decides all of a sudden to come, and spends every second upon arrival just sitting in that damn chair."

"He's scoping out the competition."

"He's a political figure and should know better."

Kankuro snorted. "Temari, our dear brother is so much more than that." She frowned, confused. He just smiled. "He's a _man_."

"He's an idiot for letting her get so close to him."

Kankuro scoffed. "They only met a week ago—it's not like they're hanging out in the spa together."

Temari crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. "You know what Gaara's like—last month it was some girl with oddly coloured hair he was shacking up with, and now‒"

"If they sleep together, they sleep together," Kankuro interrupted. "But he doesn't really know her; he isn't stupid enough to get carried away with some skirt. Have some faith in our little brother, big sister."

She sighed. "He's got the worst taste in women, _ever_."

Kankuro chuckled, accused her of being a prude, and walked off to find some cute, willing blonde to give him a lap dance.

No matter how wise Kankuro had just sounded (and she would admit that over her dead body), Temari couldn't settle and let things be: what kind of big sister would she be if she just _let_ women walk all over Gaara? She knew how to tell the difference between those infatuated by her youngest brother, and the uninterested ones. Fangirls didn't always squeal and stalk—some signs were more subtle than others. And seriously, if Suna was populated with nothing but Gaara fangirls, she'd be fighting a losing battle keeping them away from him.

She had things under control.

Temari watched as Gaara stood up gracefully, gave Sayuri a frustratingly hungry look, and made his way out of the club. Only time would tell how this would play out, but she knew Gaara (perhaps better than Kankuro) and that Sayuri girl was definitely on his mind.

**...**

The following Monday was far more _normal_ than Sakura had anticipated. Sure, Gaara had been avoiding her all morning, and after her "performance" the Friday night before, she couldn't say she was surprised, but she felt like nothing had _really_ changed. He wasn't ignorant of the female body, and she'd heard the gossip that he was _very_ attentive during sex. Her actions showed she wasn't quite as reserved as her work dress-code would have him believe.

But despite the change in Gaara's demeanour to her, it was still business as usual. She wondered if Gaara was only ever comfortable in sexual (or social, really) situations when he had his title to fall back on. The Zephyr didn't normally play host to the Kazekage apparently, so she wondered _where_ he got his reputation from.

"Playing games instead of working, I see."

The voice startled her, and Sakura looked up to see Kankuro smirking at her.

"The Kazekage-sama hasn't given me anything new to do," she said defensively. She'd also run through his schedule, organised her desk and resorted the filing cabinet, waiting for Gaara to emerge from his office, to no avail. "So, sue me, I'm bored."

The middle Sabaku sibling sidled up next to her and peered at the computer screen. "Spider Solitaire; are you trying to make a statement?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You flirted your way through Friday and Saturday night, but went home alone both times," he said, gracing her with a lopsided grin. "You feeling lonely?"

"You followed me home?" She asked, annoyed.

"Nope, Gaara did."

Sakura's jaw dropped. "H-huh?"

"He said it was to make sure you got home okay," he continued, losing his smile. "I think he was just making sure there wasn't any competition."

"E-excuse me?"

Okay, she was trying to get Gaara's attention, but for some reason, what Kankuro said surprised her. He was being extremely forward about it too; he was dead serious.

"Oh, come on Sayuri," he said; the sound of her fake name used so casually silenced her incoming retort. "You were so hot at The Zephyr—if I knew you'd say yes, I'd have taken you home myself, _both_ nights."

Sakura blushed, lowering her face. She wasn't that bad, really?

Kankuro laughed. "Don't go red now—you were doing so well."

Sakura managed to regain her dignity and challenge the puppet master at some of the games she'd snuck onto the desktop, but he declined, claiming to still have a hangover... So, she ended up teasing him until he agreed to swapping stories over poker. He apparently, always carried a pack around with him.

"Temari's been out for blood since I walked in on her with a leaf ninja."

"Leaf?" Sakura had a sudden, sickening feeling.

"Yeah, Shikamaru or something like that." Kankuro shrugged. "Brilliant guy though—he always beat me at every game we played when he was here."

"Hm… imagine that."

Kankuro grinned, ignoring her jab and throwing the cards in his hands faced up on her desk (he was sitting on a chair on the other side of it). "Ha-ha! Read 'em and weep!" He gave an exaggerated laugh; the sound came out more like a witch's cackle.

Sakura just glared at him. He had a full house and all she'd gotten was a lousy pair of fives. "Ah, shut up."

He was still grinning cockily a minute later when Temari came sauntering into the hallway. "Don't you have a mission to be getting to?" The blonde asked her brother, not even glancing at Sakura—she ducked her head, hoping Temari would just walk away once she was done, and missed the curious glance Kankuro gave her.

"Uh yeah," he said, standing up. "See ya Sayuri!"

Sakura waved back and chanced a glance at the oldest Sabaku. Temari was frowning at her. "You're a piece of work, aren't you?"

Sakura instinctively growled. She hadn't meant the sound to come out, just inwardly moan or groan at the woman's approach, but didn't regret it really. This was the third time today that Temari had come up to her desk and said that.

_Don't you have a mission as well?_ She wondered; the woman was a ninja, so why was she here every day?

Temari chose to ignore Sakura's growl, and instead stared down at her brother's assistant. "There's something I just don't get."

_That your scare tactics don't scare me?_ Sakura thought, but kept the sarcasm off her face. She was playing the civilian card but wasn't about to turn into a whimpering doormat.

"Why did you even come to Suna?"

Sakura lost her glare, replacing it with surprise and forced herself not to roll her eyes. "Excuse me?"

It seemed to take forever for the blonde to verbalise what she really wanted. Sakura saw the gears working in the woman's head and she remembered another of Naruto's claims: _"…that woman knows everything."_

Temari bowed her head slightly, her face now strangely expressionless, and her voice came out in a monotone whisper. "I know who you really are."

**…**

**XXX**

**...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A tiny step away from the feel of previous chapters, but a necessary (and important) one. More on Gaara's POV next time, promise. :) Lotsa love! ^_^


	5. Repercussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumour has it that the new Kazekage is difficult to please and can't be trusted. Unable to confirm or deny this, the Hokage decides to send his best friend to test Gaara. Naruto had it all figured out: Sakura plus seduction equals one very *satisfied* Kazekage. AUish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of this chapter is happening approximately at the same time as chapter 4. Not knowing this would make these first scenes even more confusing, so there you go. Enjoy. ^_^

…  
Chapter Five: Repercussions.  
...

"You better not be thinking what I think you're thinking, because I will kick your arse for thinking that thought."

This interruption to his normally calm façade wasn't enough to make him lash out, but Gaara could feel the frustration bubbling to the surface. His sister had been babbling for the better part of the week over his poor choice in personal assistants; she just didn't get that it didn't need to be said. Sure, this Sayuri was a weird, mysterious one, but her personality had nothing to do with his decision to hire her. And then, once Kankuro opened his big mouth and proceeded to tell Temari what Gaara had been doing with each and every candidate, the Kazekage was treated to a lecture on both professional courtesy and his twisted sense of duty.

Temari was acting like he would have slept with the each and every one of those girls if she hadn't been there to scare most of them off!

"What exactly is he thinking?" Kankuro asked, curious.

Temari crossed her arms over her shoulders. "That he's going to ruin his position and reputation just to get it on with some random personal assistant."

"Why would that ruin him?"

"It's inappropriate."

"So was him shacking up with that nurse last month," Kankuro said, ignoring Gaara's intense stare and acting like he couldn't hear them. "I think he has a thing for medics."

"He has a thing for attracting trouble."

Kankuro grinned. "That's my little brother."

"Shut up," Temari snapped. She turned back to Gaara.

Not wanting another reprimand, Gaara used his sand to shunshin out of his mansion before either of his siblings could utter another word. They'd ambushed him in his home, but the seals around his office were much better (though in hindsight, he saw how that oversight was irresponsible of him—he just didn't see the point of worrying over it, since he didn't spend that much time at home anyway, and all his important belongings had additional seals).

Gaara appeared directly in front of the dark-haired young woman his sister had just been bitching about. She gave a startled "oh!" before remembering to bow and use his title to address him. Torn between ignoring her and striding directly into his office and seeing just how easy it was to sneak up on her, Gaara stood frozen to the spot.

Gaara continued to stare at her.

He hadn't meant to become so interested in her. Gaara didn't fraternise with staff members—there were policies in place to prevent or punish that after all, and he'd put them there himself: not that they'd fraternised, per se. He'd just decided to alternate between ignoring her and openly checking her out—he couldn't decide which road to take. He had no excuse for his actions, only that he was a deranged lunatic.

Sayuri Nakayama… even the name brought a strange kind of thrill trembling through his body. It sounded strange, and didn't suit her, but he couldn't help himself. Gaara thought he smelt an underlying fragrance to her existing scent; it peaked his curiosity, because no matter how much she tried to hide it with perfumes or whatever it was she was using, he could still detect the slightest traces of vanilla and strawberry underneath it all.

He had always been highly intuitive that way, and her scent was driving him crazy.

Maybe he was crazy.

Temari certainly seemed to think so.

Gaara wasn't normally one to worry about what others thought of him—it was rarely nothing he could handle either way—but this was different. He spent his first week as Sayuri's boss torn between keeping his distance in order to enforce his own rules on propriety, and dry humping the gorgeous woman. He could feel his composure on said decision crumbling.

"Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara nodded curtly, handed her a duty roster from his personal filing cabinet and returned to his office, settling in reluctantly. He pushed Sayuri out of his head. The newest batch of paperwork got a temperamental glare and growl from the Kazekage. Some paperwork was just bullshit—so whenever the opportunity arose, he made sure to tell people he'd look into things he didn't actually have to. So Gaara's system was to sort things into one of three piles: "waste of parchment", "this crap can wait", and "do now or go insane later". He wasn't some shirker, but his time was far more valuable than the average Shinobi. Even delegating less important documents for approval was a bitch. But he did it: and all with the patience of a saint as far as he was concerned.

Since taking office, he'd gone over a number of the previous legislations and there were a few that stood out more prominently than others as by-laws that needed amending. This was his only _political_ concern right now. The main one was the foundation of Suna's alliance with Konoha. He wasn't happy with it, and that problem wasn't going away. And with some of these newer revelations, he decided that trying to afford a new onsen house just to prevent Kankuro from peeking wasn't important enough to warrant the Kazekage's attention. (The puppet master was many things, but subtle was never one of them.)

Gaara found it funny, though he'd never admit it: Temari had no idea _both_ of her brothers found the idea of naked women in steam and hot water irresistibly _hot_. He was going to preserve her belief that he really was naïve, despite his own personal experience, for as long as he could. Or as Kankuro told him "milk it for all it's worth". It made lazy weekends that much more bearable.

Gaara sighed. Still, thoughts of Sayuri spending some quality time in the local onsen and tying Kankuro down so he couldn't ogle were delightful fantasies: and classified as beautiful, delicious distractions.

"Kazekage-sama."

Gaara looked up, startled. None of this registered on his face however, and he merely nodded to his secretary. The object of his musings strode into his office and handed over a manila folder with Councillor Shin's seal on the cover. Looking Sayuri over, he realised he'd been doing paperwork for hours and he attempted a small smile in gratitude for her interruption.

She returned the smile. "Yoshiko-san said that Shin-san wants that done as soon as possible."

So much for his happy mood.

"Sayuri…" He sighed. "Thank-you, that's all."

She nodded, bowed, and left, closing the door behind her.

Gaara placed the manila folder down gently, staring at the door his secretary had just disappeared behind. The sound of his brother ambling into the hallway made up his mind on what to do next. He summoned his third eye and peeked through the wall as the puppet master grinned cheekily at Sayuri.

"Working hard?" Kankuro asked.

Sakura was just considering going for a self-directed tour to calm her nerves when the brunette interrupted her thoughts. He wasn't like Gaara, who despite his silent forwardness, didn't seem to know how to approach her. The last time she'd seen the puppet master before this mission, he hadn't been quite so happy.

She shrugged. "For now."

"You heading out to the clubs tonight?"

"Sure, I like The Zephyr."

Kankuro grinned, but didn't stop to talk any longer, heading toward the closed door to his brother's office. "I'll see you there," he said, winking at her. Without knocking, he waltzed into his brother's office, knowing full well Gaara had been using his third eye to listen in on that short but sweet conversation.

**...**

Friday nights were the busiest when Gaara got stuck into his paperwork. But after overhearing that Sayuri would be at The Zephyr (the most notorious night club in Suna that didn't _literally_ reek) made him want to finish early. With a knowing smirk, Kankuro gave him a quick rundown on the sort of attire that was expected of him and Gaara silently left his brother behind, knowing he'd be expecting to accompany him if only to have front row seats to what it was that his Kazekage was planning.

Gaara wasn't planning anything. He was moving on instinct; that chunin he'd trained when she was still a Genin, stood outside The Zephyr, amidst half a dozen other girls. The brunette squealed at the sight of him. He nodded curtly to Matsuri out of obligation but continued on without pausing. After a moment's hesitation, she followed; Temari and Kankuro's sudden appearance kept her at bay however, and after scanning the night club quickly, Gaara realised Sayuri was already here.

She was sitting on a loveseat with that new ANBU, Shuin. Gaara remembered his codename was Basset. He had a thing for overstepping his mark.

Gaara took a seat, ignoring the passing waitress's attempts to offer him a beverage and "whatever your heart desires, Kazekage-sama", and pretended his siblings weren't stealing curious glances at him. Sayuri was the only thing he cared about right now; he stared blatantly and unabashedly.

She looked up at him, her fingers clasping yet another glass of whatever it was she was having—he couldn't tell and right now, didn't care. She focused on him for a moment before turning back to the ANBU next to her. Gaara continued to stare at her after she pulled her eyes away and felt like going over there, pulling Shuin away from the girl and taking her to his mansion. But that little voice in his head—the one subliminally implanted there by Temari over the course of his tenure as Kazekage—wanted him to be smart about this and not make a scene that would send the Suna grape-vine reeling.

So, he just sat there and watched, forcibly keeping his sand under control, and calming himself with mental images of himself _killing_ that ANBU, slowly and painfully. For both of their sakes, "Basset" was going to go on a long-term mission come morning and stay as far away from Sayuri as humanly possible once he returned. These thoughts kept his murderous ones at bay; eventually, Sayuri lifted her eyes to return the stare of the Kazekage again and bit her bottom lip. The effect was instantaneous and his eye twitched involuntarily.

_Fucking hell._

Was she doing this on purpose?

His question was answered when she got up, strode over to the lowset stage—Kankuro had spoken of it often in his tales of lap dances, pole dancers and horny one-night stands. And the Kazekage struggled to supress his own physical _reactions_ when his dark-haired receptionist swung her leg around one of the poles, her seductive movements amplified by the skimpy dress she'd chosen to wear. He wondered what she'd feel like, pressed up against him, dancing like that, how her intricately woven scent would change when intermingled with perspiration. The not-so-subtle "come hither" motions of the male members of the crowd had Gaara growling audibly—luckily, no-one heard him.

And then Sayuri "invited" Shuin to dance with her and it was all Gaara could do not to encase the man in his Sand Coffin then and there. There were so many ways _Shuin_ could die and no-one would find a trace of him.

He was vaguely aware that his siblings were talking about him: all he heard was "make him jealous", "get laid", and "oddly coloured hair". That last statement drew his attention, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the seductive, dancing form of his personal assistant: every inch of her, and every not so innocent sway of her hips made him dig even deeper into the arm of his chair.

Time passed, Sayuri didn't attempt to sneak upstairs with Shuin, and Gaara managed to relax his muscles enough to release his death grip on his chair. It would not do to have the Kazekage throw himself at some woman in the middle of a very public mix of oestrogen and testosterone. He repeated this several more times in his head before standing up, casting a frustratingly hungry look at the object of said frustrations, and left the club. But he wasn't going home, oh no. He was going to make sure Sayuri went home, _alone_.

Gaara was a master at moving undetected, and hovered around the entrance to The Zephyr, just _waiting_. She appeared ten minutes later, and he managed to reform from the dispersal of his sand in time to literally bump into his brother. The puppet master had a look of absolute glee on his face, a half wasted blonde woman hugging his side and he chuckled, noting his otouto's gaze follow the mysterious dark-haired woman from the land of iron.

"Go get her," Kankuro whispered hoarsely, before gently pushing Gaara forward.

Temari had just exited the club (alone) and, knowing he was about to get reprimanded again, Gaara took his brother's advice. He had no intention of following Sayuri into her apartment and climbing into bed with her—the temptation was there but he was well aware of what lines _not_ to cross. He had already decided just to make sure she was going home alone, before returning to his own bed.

She didn't see him, of course, and he watched her move into her bathroom for a few minutes before coming out and getting dressed in full view of the barely open window.

Gaara didn't really consider himself a peeping tom, despite several... uh …incidents in the local onsen. But this was bordering on it. Okay, this was yet another line he knew not to cross, but he was doing it anyway. Thankfully, for Sayuri's sake, and his own conscience, she didn't strip down completely—her underwear was dark pink, lacy and while _enticing_ , still covered her nicely enough. She turned away from the window, slipped her bra off, and pulled on a faded shirt and the shortest boy shorts he'd ever seen.

Gaara realised after the fact that his own hand had found the front of his pants and mentally berated himself. _That_ could wait until he got home. He watched Sayuri as she settled into her bed, his eyes peering through the now near darkness resolutely until his own need for sleep drove him home.

_I'm going to hell for this._

**...**

Monday morning had come too quickly. Gaara decided the best thing to do would be to ignore Sayuri until he decided whether it was worth ruining having a decent personal assistant over getting laid by said assistant. It wasn't like he'd have problems finding someone to warm his bed, so he didn't _need_ her, specifically. But he knew it was just an excuse—she'd deliberately flirted with Shuin, given _him_ more than a few seductive glances, and… well, let's just say, his hand had been busy for quite a _while_ before he finally managed to get to sleep, both Friday and Saturday nights.

He remembered the first time he'd masturbated—he had been so naïve when it came to hormones and etiquette, not waiting to get home to do so. Kankuro had teased him for months about being so obvious in public, while Temari refused to look him in the eyes for just as long. It wasn't like he'd done it to give people a show, he just didn't realise, lost so in his reverie, that he had an audience. Unfortunately, there were a number of fan girls nearby, and he still hadn't lived that day down.

Only the threat of death in the most painful way possible kept every eyewitness publicly silent.

Gaara sighed, opening his office door, having sensed the familiar chakra signature inside.

"What are you doing?" He grumbled.

"Swivelling on your chair," Kankuro said gleefully, spinning several times before continuing. "I like it—it _almost_ makes me wish I were Kazekage."

"Almost."

Kankuro nodded and held his right hand up for inspection; his forefinger and thumb a hair's breadth apart. " _Almost_ ," he stressed, and then chuckled. "And then I remember I _hate_ overbearing old geezers; they suck all the fun out of life."

Gaara nodded. "Out."

Kankuro complied, jumping out of the chair, but moved in front of the desk as his brother lazily sat back in it, looking more contemplative than usual. "So, what's she like?"

Gaara looked up at him, frowning.

"You know what I mean." Kankuro grinned. "Wet, tight, wet _and_ tight… what?"

"Kankuro…"

"Oh, you didn't get any, huh?" The puppet master ignored his brother's murderous glare. "C'mon, otouto, you can tell me."

"Yes," Gaara groaned. "And then all of Suna would know."

"That hurts bro." Kankuro cocked his head to the side as he sensed Sayuri's approach, down the hallway. "Well, gotta go." He shunshined out.

Annoyed, Gaara watched again, with his third eye, as his brother conversed easily with Sayuri. _He_ had spoken with her on many occasions, on both professional matters, and that one time she tried to ask him about his family life. She was easy going, answering his unspoken question of "what about your family?" and telling him all about her overprotective brother. He sounded like a male version of Temari. And because he was an accomplished samurai, Gaara decided not to do anything to piss him off—at least until he gauged the man's level of creepy.

Sayuri's laughter drifted through the wall at something Kankuro said and Gaara sighed wistfully.

She was dressed conservatively as usual and accompanied by the rush of jealousy at her "performance" at The Zephyr, Gaara was suddenly very angry. She waltzed around the office in clothes of appropriate length and design and partied in a disreputable night club like she was just as loose as the other woman who spent their off hours there.

But Sayuri was different to them again, beyond the obvious and underneath those… _clothes_. He wanted to see for himself if she really was a porcelain doll, from head to toe, without the impediment of skimpy dresses or delectable lingerie. The possibility of luring her back to his place had him licking his lips. He had spent the week watching her with his third eye so often that it was bordering on insanity. She had him physically cornered, metaphorically speaking, and she was going to pay for that.

Gaara almost didn't notice when his sister appeared and Kankuro left reluctantly (he was thinking about that lacy pink lingerie…). He stood up, moved to the door of his office and surprisingly, even Temari didn't notice as he inched it open.

Temari bowed her head slightly, her face now strangely expressionless, and her voice came out in a monotone whisper. "I know who you really are."

Sakura inhaled sharply. "And who am I?"

"A liar," the blonde said, smiling sweetly. Of this, she was sure. "Your dossier says you're from Sakata, but not why you came here. Why did you even come to Suna?"

Sakura didn't know how to respond. But the best defence was an offense, so she threw the accusation back at the woman. "Do you do this to every woman who just happens to stumble into the Kazekage's life?"

"No, she doesn't," Gaara said; he'd been standing in the doorway to his office and, thoroughly embarrassed, Sakura sat back in her chair, her eyes drifting toward her lap. Temari shared a pouting glare with her brother and then promptly left by his silent command. Gaara moved away from his office and toward Sakura, staring at her intently. He leant forward, resting his hands on the arms of her chair and effectively caging her in; the corner of his mouth twitched when she determinedly matched his shameless gaze. He sniffed her again, like he'd been doing off and on for the last week.

There was that curious cocktail that was her scent, again.

"Temari only gets this defensive without attacking with women I have every intention of sleeping with."

Sakura felt a chill run through her body, but she couldn't look away from him. He was smirking, and leaning in toward her, without touching her. She licked her lips, and his eyes drifted to her lips, before running over her body.

"You were such a tease the other night," he said. "And I don't like to be teased—not when I'm not the one pressed up against you, or deep _inside_ you."

Before she could utter a complaint, Gaara pulled her out of the chair and shoved her into the wall. Nothing broken, nothing fractured… a slight stinging sensation was the only evidence that he hadn't been gentle. And then he was kissing her, biting on her lips to make her gasp before his tongue invaded her mouth. He growled against her lips, and Gaara smirked triumphantly when the dark-haired girl responded to him vivaciously. He ground his hips, pushing her harder against the wall and using his body to cage her against it.

All inhibitions had officially evaporated.

Gods, she wanted him. He tantalised her senses, his expert tongue probing every inch of her mouth as his hands traced her body. She shivered and moaned out his name... then he did the same.

"Sayuri…"

Sakura stopped what she was doing, stunned. It wasn't the first time he'd called her by her fake persona, but this time it was laced with his desire. This was flipping her out, and she couldn't help the painful stab of guilt that tore through her heart.

But he wouldn't let her remain idle for long, pulling her mind back into her physical predicament, and again, ground his hips into hers; a jolt of electricity, starting at her inner thigh, shot through her and she lost herself to his embrace once more.

Neither of them forgot where they were however, and eventually, their need to breathe took precedence. Gaara was the one to break the kiss, but not the contact.

"Go home," he said after a moment, still panting slightly. He smirked at the shock on her face. "Take the rest of the day off." He pulled away from her. "I'll be going home around sunset, and I expect you to be there."

He shunshined out, leaving her dazed and Sakura let out a breath she didn't remember inhaling.

_Holy fuck._

This was really happening.

Sakura packed up her things and did what she was told, leaving the administration building _way_ too early. He was so much more intense than she'd anticipated, though the direct "I get what I want" attitude wasn't surprising, considering he was a Kage. She found the apartment she shared with Tenzou empty when she finally managed to find it in her post-make out daze. As she sunk into a hot, _relaxing_ bath (which was its purpose more than bathing, this time), Sakura closed her eyes, just remembering the _feel_ of Gaara, the taste of him, and his scent. It was intoxicating—no, _he_ was intoxicating. But she couldn't shake the guilt she'd felt at his use of her fake name. Come tonight, she was going to be taking advantage of him.

On the battlefield, or in missions dealing with rogues and the usual scum, this was no problem—attack, maim, kill, or cheat, it didn't matter. They had it coming, most of the time, and even when they didn't, she otherwise felt nothing for them—the guilt had left her a long time ago. She hadn't been a mere genin for years.

Sakura had all day to wallow in what had happened, what was going to happen, and what it all meant. She had a sick, twisted feeling Gaara had done that on purpose. She had made a few friends since arriving, steering clear of the girls who had hearts in their eyes for their Kazekage. She'd always had a natural talent for befriending someone regardless of age—nothing like Naruto's abilities of course, but it was similar in premise at least.

She sighed, trying to think about the most constructive way she could be spending her unexpected "day off". Her thoughts always inevitably returned to a certain _hot_ redhead.

Taking into account every rumour, every confirmation (mostly from Shikamaru), and every little ambiguous comment from Kankuro, Sakura found Gaara was mysterious, no matter which way she sliced it. When it came to him, she only knew three things for certain: he was the Kazekage, he _definitely_ wanted to sleep with her, and he wasn't going to take "no" for an answer.

…

XXX

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My cliché heart is all aflutter. ;)
> 
> No, I won't be doing that weird *back-track through last chapter* thing every time. I just felt it important to show Gaara's POV of what happened. Well, I guess you guys all have your own theories as to what's coming now. *wink, wink, hint, hint* Lol. We're only five chapters in, but this fic was never about building up some fluff relationship—the romantic part isn't immediate, but it will come. No, this is hormone driven, lol.
> 
> I'm aware this is a cliché fic but I'm just going with it: having fun. Lotsa love! ^_^


	6. Consummation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumour has it that the new Kazekage is difficult to please and can't be trusted. Unable to confirm or deny this, the Hokage decides to send his best friend to test Gaara. Naruto had it all figured out: Sakura plus seduction equals one very *satisfied* Kazekage. AUish.

…  
Chapter Six: Consummation.  
...

She almost fell asleep.

The heat of the bubbles, the aroma of her scented candles… the bathtub was also _very_ comfortable. That in and of itself was a good enough reason to just stay in the water and wait for sleep to overtake her. She'd never felt comfortable lying back in a tub like this before—it wasn't luxurious, was barely large enough to accommodate her body, and was even chipped and faded. But Sakura could feel the urge just to drift away and let her worries over Gaara's indirect order to sleep with him fade; she had even closed her eyes. It wasn't so hard; his voice was pleasant but not demanding—in her head anyway.

She _almost_ fell asleep.

Unbidden images of their imminent encounter plagued her—as much as it excited her, it also terrified. She'd worked herself up over it, and Sakura forced herself to calm down. It was always the image of herself throttling Naruto that helped. But she didn't blame him anymore, not really; she'd brought this on herself as well. She wanted this, more than anyone else knew. Gaara's fangirls may disgust her (mostly, she saw her former Sasuke fangirl self in them), but she did agree with the sentiment at least.

And that was her concern.

Sakura didn't want to lower herself to that anymore. She'd worked so hard to push away her inner, the voice that said what she couldn't had disappeared a long time ago, which was also made up of such foolish frivolity as stalking the cutest guy she could find. Naruto had gotten it right when he said attractive guys made her goofy. And there was no denying Gaara was attractive. Only an idiot couldn't see it. And to top things off, he _knew_ it. He knew he was gorgeous; he knew she could see it, and it played across his face every time her gaze lingered on him longer than necessary.

He was intolerable.

Sakura remembered the first time she'd met him. The first time she'd taken the chunin exams had been rough, not to mention she'd almost given up on the theory, her best subject. Naruto inspired her faith, whether she was raising her hand or following him blindly into the forest of death. A part of her longed for those days, considering Sasuke was still a member of Team Seven at the time, and no matter what he'd done since leaving Konoha, she missed him. She would always miss him. She would always love him.

Gaara however, had not immediately drawn her attention, as was to be expected considering she was still a Sasuke fan girl. But her inner noticed he was cute. He was definitely cute. Pictures of him and fleeting, long distance shots of him over the years morphed him from cute to hot, but she hadn't quite been prepared for this mission. He'd grown up nicer and faster than she'd anticipated.

And when Naruto was named Hokage, Sakura was on a mission. She had been at the inauguration, but not at the proceeding negotiations with their existing allies. This was how she hadn't realised until it was too late that the new Kazekage was none other than her previous crush.

And now…

_I'm panicking,_ she thought, rubbing her hands over her skin roughly. _I just need to look at this logically._

If she could push aside the thoughts that led to her nerves, it would be fine. She wasn't some trembling, naïve virgin. This was a mission, there was nothing to it…

She groaned. _Except it's not, not really._

"Sayuri?"

She sat up quickly, water cascading over the side of the tub, knocking her candles into the tub and making her squeal in surprise. That was Tenzou's voice, and he sounded concerned.

"In the bath!" She called out, knowing he would sit and wait like an impatient aniki for her to hurry up and finish. Sakura had already cleaned, shaved, and cleaned some more, so there really was no need to stay in the bath. She'd divested herself of any traces of pink before even arriving in Suna, but it wouldn't hurt to be safe.

When Sakura had a bathrobe around her body, she towel dried her hair, walking lazily into the living room. There was a package on the coffee table, addressed to her, and she fingered it thoughtfully as Tenzou emerged from his bedroom. He looked wary.

"It's from the Kazekage," he said.

Sakura nodded, unwrapping it carefully as she moved toward her bedroom. Tenzou followed but stopped at the doorway; Sakura sat down on her bed and read the instructions written on the sheet of paper. The package also came with a key and keychain. Was it to the Kazekage's mansion? She looked up at her _brother_.

"Why are you here? I thought you'd be at the dojo for another few hours yet."

"I heard he told you to go home and I was worried," he said.

She gave him a half-hearted, nervous smile. "He did."

"What happened?"

Sakura swallowed heavily, pulling herself to full height. The strong Kunoichi answered him. "I'm going over to his mansion tonight."

"To sneak around or get laid?"

She turned a violent red and glared at him. "I was invited, you lecherous pervert!"

Seriously, he was turning into Kakashi! She didn't remember him acting this way back when they were a part of Team Kakashi. What the hell was the matter with him? Sakura continued to glare at him, but he just matched it with a cheeky smile. He waited for her to calm down, and she thought it through, realising he might not have felt comfortable talking like this to her or Naruto because they were underage back then.

"Are you always like this?" She had been overage for years, thank-you very much.

"No," he admitted. "Just when I'm _really_ happy."

She shook her head. "I have enough to worry about without you going off the deep end."

"Mission troubles?"

"More like nerves."

Tenzou watched her closely as she flopped back onto her bed. "You should calm down."

Sakura glared at him. " _You_ calm down! _I'm_ freaking out."

He really wanted to give her his infamous glare, and _make_ her calm down, but it really didn't affect her like it did Naruto. Those were the days.

"You're a jounin," he said instead. "Not a genin, and this is just another mission…"

Sakura groaned sitting up again. "It's not just another mission—it's a seduction mission. I never took those for a reason. This isn't my thing."

"Then why did you accept this one?"

She looked up at him; still standing in her doorway, he looked familiarly comfortable between the wooden frames. The truth was that the idea of seducing Gaara had allowed her to forget her promise to herself when Tsunade had offered her seduction training. It wasn't like every Kunoichi from here to the land of tea went through said training, as it was only an ANBU thing—with very few exceptions, and ultimately interchangeable via the order of a Kage.

She hadn't really thought this one through. She played with a strand of her hair, visualising the pink tresses she preferred, through the black, not sure how to respond.

"You're just getting cold feet."

She snorted. "I'm sleeping with him, not marrying him."

"But why?"

She hesitated. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone, not even Naruto."

"I can't disobey a direct order from my Hokage, Sakura."

"Okay fine, unless he specifically asks you."

Tenzou nodded. "Promise."

She gripped the bed sheets, desperately wishing she could access her chakra as she lowered her eyes to the floor. But even though it was safe enough for them to talk like this right now, she would not risk activating her chakra—call her paranoid. Tracker ninja scared the hell out of her, and Suna had a number of _really_ good ones.

"It's stupid," she said. "I always thought he was hot, and even daydreamed about having sex with him." She lifted her eyes quickly, catching the strange look of surprise on Tenzou's face before he managed to school his features. " _Don't_ tell anyone."

"That's it?"

"Yeah…"

Tenzou just shook his head. "It's just a fantasy Sakura. Everyone has them."

"I know, it's just… well, now that I'm here, it's so much more embarrassing."

"It's just you and me here," he said, coming in to sit next to her. "And I'm not Ino—I know how to keep a secret."

"Thanks."

The wood master rubbed his forehead. "But if you go in and see him with the bundle of nerves you've got going on right now, he's bound to wonder what's going on with you, even if you actually should be intimidated, because he's the Kazekage."

"What do you suggest?"

"I know the fundamental steps of seduction."

"Why didn't you say so?"

He smirked. "You didn't ask."

Sakura was gobsmacked. "Does that mean you've… uh…"

Tenzou nodded. "I've gone on seduction missions before, when I was ANBU. I can teach you a few things, if you really want me to."

He'd left it to her to ask because he knew Sakura—no amount of offers would've gotten her to listen to him until she was desperate enough. This was a bit last minute, but the _most_ important thing about this kind of mission wasn't the theory (though he would never belittle its significance), but the practical. If Sakura attempted to seduce the Kazekage given the set of instructions set down by ANBU, she'd fail. It was something all ANBU entering this type of mission learnt the hard way—and it was done to them on purpose.

Gaara may have initiated their imminent encounter, but Sakura was a willing participant, and she needed to get a hold of herself.

"Okay," he said, standing up and offering his hand. She accepted it gratefully. "You're officially inducted into the Tenzou School of Seduction."

Sakura scoffed. "Can I design my own curriculum?"

"Sorry, that's a Sensei's privilege."

"You suck as a teacher."

"Worse than Kakashi?"

She stuck out her tongue and he chuckled.

"Careful now Sakura," he warned. "We only have a few hours, and disrespect will not be tolerated."

It wasn't until Tenzou had left her to get dressed that Sakura started to feel nervous again. The rules were simple in theory, and she just needed to hold onto that. Gaara had told her (via the letter with the key) not to dress up, but she wanted to at least look decent. Slutty and respectable didn't exactly go hand in hand, so she found a medium in a knee-high red dress, thinking it looked alright with minimal makeup. She also went halfway in recreating what she'd done the nights Gaara had followed her home after her _fun_ in that nightclub, The Zephyr.

Tenzou whistled at the sight of her, and she blushed. "Shut up."

He couldn't resist it—this was bringing out his cheeky side. Tenzou slapped her on the arse and grinned when she glared back at him. "Go get him, tiger."

**...**

This was ridiculous. She was standing outside the Kazekage's mansion, positive he was indeed inside, and she was _freezing_. He had to know she was out here, which pissed her off, because for the infinitesimal moments in which she'd risked activating her chakra to check, he hadn't moved from a room upstairs—be it his bedroom or home office, she didn't know. Perhaps he was making her wait, but he had no way of knowing she'd know for sure he was up there.

The note had specifically told her to wait, and she wondered what the key was for. Was he trying to piss her off or come off romantic? She wasn't sure at this point.

"You didn't need to dress up."

Gaara's deep, husky voice tickled the back of her neck, startling her. She wasn't sure what that meant for her ninja senses, considering she wasn't _supposed_ to have any right now, but as his lips grazed her skin, all other thoughts abruptly left her head. A hand slid down her side, not groping her, but not keeping a respectful distance either.

"I wasn't going to wear my track pants and halter top," she said quickly.

"Hm." She supposed he saw her point. "It doesn't matter anyway; I'll be taking it off of you soon enough."

Sand swirled around her, pulling her back against the chiselled form behind her, and Sakura felt her body being pulled through a teleportation jutsu; it didn't feel like a normal one however, and she supposed this sand version worked on a slightly different premise.

They landed inside the Kazekage's mansion and Gaara immediately released his hold on her; she spun around, taking a step away from him, eyes widening at the darkened, lustful stare of her imminent lover.

"What do you want?" She asked, as though it wasn't already obvious.

"What words can never describe," he said, watching the array of emotions flitting over her face.

He hadn't intended this to be anything other than a night of unbridled passion, but he was getting the idea, looking at her now, that she wasn't completely aware of the shallowness of his intent.

"Kazekage-sama, I-oomph!"

Her protests were cut off as he closed the distance between them, _intent_ on showing her just how much he wanted her. The next instant, he had her on his bed, her thighs parted but not exposed, and his hands roaming her body. It was a few minutes of tugging, and pushing later, when Sakura finally managed to regain her equilibrium and pull away. He was already running his hands under her dress in an attempt to divest her of her clothes, but she shifted her hips, clamping her elbows to her sides, to impede him.

And, instead of allowing him access (his silent glare demanded as much), she smirked up at him. "What, no entrée?"

She was referring to his haste to undress her, and he knew it.

"What do you want?" He murmured, echoing her earlier words. "What are you expecting from tonight?"

_A good fucking roll._

Sakura almost baulked at her own thoughts. The truth that she couldn't be honest about her answer was painful, so she instead redirected his line of questioning.

"I'm not looking at tomorrow," Sakura said, running her fingers along Gaara's arm. "I'm looking at here and now; at _you_."

He growled, taking that as some sort of acquiesce and returned to kissing her.

Sakura tried not to look like she was terrified inside. She had no delusions that this was just sex he was after, and the idea of sleeping with the Kazekage and then leaving once her mission was over felt _wrong_. The way he looked at her was so intense; she daydreamed that it wasn't just lust—his eyes would rake her body, but only once he'd smiled and greeted her, all awhile, his eyes were on hers. He would be infatuated.

She was insane.

Sakura was a Konoha Kunoichi, and she'd been trained to put the mission first, but this was still wrong.

"Sayuri," Gaara whispered huskily.

Sakura trembled slightly at the sound of the fake name; the guilt was heavy now, and she closed her eyes as he licked her collarbone, biting her the next second (making her eyes snap open in shock). His arms snaked around her body and he growled into her skin, his hands returning to the task of undressing her. She helped him along, shifting underneath him and becoming less self-conscious by the second. So, he was finally seeing her naked, she would be in his position in a moment anyway. And as she thought that, Gaara pulled away to disrobe; his Kage clothes fell away and without thinking, Sakura lowered her hands to the last of the impediments, pushing them down and releasing him from the bonds.

She wasn't given a chance to admire him. Gaara lowered himself onto her, nibbling her, breaking skin; the entire length of her body was on fire from the contact as he moved against her. The friction increased, and he had her practically _begging_ him to slide inside her. But he wanted to make it last, the delight with which he found himself teasing her, not something he was eager to cut short.

Still, she couldn't seem to let go of the guilt.

He noticed her hesitance of course—he wasn't stupid. Gaara stopped what he was doing and looked up at her, his right-hand hovering over her left breast. "What's the matter?"

_You're too fucking hot for your own good._

Shit.

Sakura inhaled deeply. "Nothing."

He frowned. "Don't lie; something's wrong, now tell me what it is."

She shuddered. Tenzou's warnings about hiding her emotions rang in her ears. She closed her eyes momentarily, trying to steel herself, and then looked at him; Gaara's expression had morphed, from slightly annoyed to concerned. He held his hovering hand down on her bare skin now, and she knew what he was about to say before he said it.

"Do you want me to stop?"

Sakura shook her head without thinking. And really, she _didn't_ want him to back out of this. If she could push aside her guilt, pretend that he was about to have sex with Sakura Haruno, not Sayuri Nakayama, then everything else was bound to fall into place. Yes, she wanted this.

"I'm fine," she said, this time sounding like she meant it. "It's just a little faster than I'm used to."

"The sex?"

She ignored the slight smirk on his lips. "Everything up until."

Gaara lightly grazed her nipple with his thumb, his smirk deepening when she let out a soft sigh. He licked his lips, his hand moving between her thighs instead, and she trembled in anticipation. He moved to accommodate his new target and lazily drew circles over her highly sensitised skin. "I know I can come off as pushy," he said seriously, "but if you're not comfortable, just say so."

Sakura nodded. "It's okay; I want this, I promise."

His expression softened and Gaara released his hold on her, sliding up her body to place a kiss on her lips.

He was waiting for her to relax, stroking her gently, and suckling on her bottom lip; he bit down when she bucked underneath him. And then Gaara slid his fingers inside her; Sakura was shocked at the strangely familiar sensation of chakra coursing through her. It streamed through her cervix, ending in her uterus. She could feel it like an extension of Gaara's fingers and it was incredibly erotic. Was this a type of birth control jutsu? The medic in her wanted to ask him, but when she opened her mouth to voice the words, all that came out was a low toned, guttural moan. Her body reacted without her permission, and in her reverie, Sakura did not see the arrogant smirk on Gaara's face.

Watching her writhe under him was more than enough to make him hard, and then she had to go and mewl in response to his chakra inside of her… it was, interesting. He'd always been good at pleasuring women, but never had this kind of reaction before. She made him want to keep teasing her, to see how much she could take, but forcing his chakra into her was enough. There would be no unplanned repercussions from this night, and that was what was important.

She could see that he was letting her in, letting down his guard, closing his eyes to his training and as he pressed their foreheads together, Sakura was sure his eyes had changed. They were no longer the taut, reserved eyes of the Kazekage—now he looked down at her with something akin to admiration, lust, and serenity.

They questioned her silently and she nodded her assent, knowing this was her last chance to back out. She wanted him in her, _now_.

And with one deep, angled thrust, he was suddenly inside her. The rest of the world disappeared; Sakura arched, jerking uncontrollably as she lost herself to the pleasure wracking her body. He moved immediately, nuzzling her neck, inhaling her scent, and his hips rolled gently. His rhythm was demanding but coaxing and designed to arouse in agonising leisureliness.

Only when Sakura dug her nails into his back and drew blood did Gaara increase his pace. His eyes were rolled up into the back of his head and Gaara seemed lost to everything but what he was _feeling_. His hands unconsciously swept over her torso, mechanically memorising the contours of her body, and he barely registered that the woman beneath him was half-screaming in time with his thrusts.

Sakura pulled the Kazekage closer to her heartbeat, trying to draw this out, excited and enlivened that his heart was racing just as quickly, but wanting to forestall the inexorable conclusion.

And when her vision did inevitably explode, she was vaguely aware of her peripherals; his sand was everywhere. It swarmed around them like it had a mind of its own, exploding a moment later as Sakura threw her head back, letting out an ear piercing, high pitched scream.

The Kazekage came inside of her as an afterthought and collapsed on top of her, his hot breath in her ear as they both drifted off.

**...**

Sakura woke first. There was no light dazzling her eyes, like she'd have anticipated—the sun had yet to rise. It was still dark outside, and the inside of the Kazekage's mansion mirrored this. Without looking at the clock, she figured it was just after two in the morning. She'd never felt more exhausted, her body tingling with the sensation, but she also felt like she was standing naked in front of an air-conditioning unit. Every pore was highly sensitised, every inch of her skin on alert. She'd never woken up quite like this before.

She shifted her head slightly, realising at the same time, that Gaara's arm, while draped across her body, was relaxed and therefore easy to wriggle out of. She moved slightly however, and his fingers clenched, gripping tightly to her side. His eyes twitched; even when fast asleep he was controlling. She fidgeted, manoeuvring until his arms fell lax at his sides, and Sakura wiggled out of bed. Glancing at the naked Kazekage, she looked around the room again—during the course of their, uh, _fun_ , she'd vaguely registered that this room contained a safe.

For a ninja, such a device would have fuuin jutsu all over it, so she wouldn't be able to open it without activating her chakra and therefore alerting the sleeping form of the Kazekage. But she just wanted to examine it. Her clothes were flung around the room carelessly and getting dressed again would look suspicious if he were to wake up before she was done, so Sakura made her way over to the safe in the near darkness, completely naked.

She was right about the array of fuuin jutsu; Sakura knelt in front of it, tested the more obvious seals, and made a visual inspection of the lock. If she had five minutes of privacy, she was sure she'd get it open—ten minutes without making any kind of mess. She looked up quickly at the sound of feet shuffling along. Outside, in the hallway, someone was coming this way.

A ninja's first instinct was supposed to be to attack, defend, or retreat. The possibility that someone might walk in on her trying to steal Kazekage secrets (not that that was _exactly_ what she was doing), made her want to lash out.

The footsteps didn't pass the room by. In fact, whoever was encroaching in on the Kazekage's room at this ungodly hour was slowly opening the door without knocking and, naked and kneeling down in front of the locked safe, all Sakura could do was hold her breath and resist the temptation to activate her chakra.

…

XXX

...


	7. Suspicions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumour has it that the new Kazekage is difficult to please and can't be trusted. Unable to confirm or deny this, the Hokage decides to send his best friend to test Gaara. Naruto had it all figured out: Sakura plus seduction equals one very *satisfied* Kazekage. AUish.

…  
Chapter Seven: Suspicions.  
...

The smell of sex lingered in the air, and it occurred to Sakura that she'd just now plummeted to new depths of stupid.

There were documents with no seals, and she had walked straight past them, her eyes on a fuuin protected safe instead. Sure, it probably held something of interest, but... she still felt stupid. When looking into a large area (say, an oversized bedroom for a political leader), one's eyes naturally strayed to the more prominent features. Gaara didn't even have a desk in here. Still, her genjutsu was working, and Kankuro hadn't seen her, let alone the fact that she was missing from Gaara's bed (if he had known indeed that she was coming here in the first place). She watched his head jerk to the side slightly, as though he could sense an unusual level of chakra in the air; he just stood there, like a wild dog sniffing out its prey without moving. His sense of what was really going on had to be dulled because she was just that good at genjutsu, but the suspicion would be difficult to avoid.

Perhaps the fact that he didn't know she could use her chakra would make him dismiss any concerns he had. The last thing she needed was _both_ of Gaara's siblings thinking she was out to use and hurt him. Still, he didn't move, and Sakura was starting to get a cramp in her leg. She closed her eyes, concentrating as the puppet master seemed to make a decision, turned around, and left as quietly as he'd come. Of course, he didn't realise she'd done that—a genjutsu worked by altering perceptions, and nobody in Suna knew she was a Kunoichi. This was a weakness she could exploit but wasn't necessary until now. Who looked for a genjutsu specialist in a civilian? Still, the fact that she was crouching naked and less than a foot from where Kankuro had just been standing sent shivers up her spine. He didn't need to have seen her. At the sound of Kankuro's feet shuffling away, she realised she'd been holding her breath, and Sakura let it all out in one shaky sigh.

That was too close.

Trembling slightly, Sakura glanced at the safe once more, before standing. That was enough close encounters for one night.

Sakura kept her eyes on Gaara as she slipped back into the bed. This whole seducing the Kazekage was fine and everything, but it was fraying her nerves. Let Tenzou take over next time—he could use some of those things he'd told her to screw someone over. Her next thoughts went to Ino, and she shuddered at the thought of her blonde friend touching Gaara.

So lost in her musings was she, that the next thing she knew, strong arms were snaking their way around her waist. Sakura immediately anticipated the warmth that now spread over her back but wasn't entirely prepared for it when Gaara started to grope her—no, that was a lewd way of explaining the way his hands now ran over her skin. She turned to face him, unsure what to do or say to the Kazekage as he hummed softly to himself.

But by the looks of things (given his eyes were closed and his breathing even), Gaara was still asleep. He didn't wriggle; the way Gaara shifted next to her in response to her movement was so graceful and erotic at the same time. His hands seemed to move almost as an afterthought, tracing her outline as he murmured something in his sleep she couldn't quite catch.

And then he was kissing her, pushing against Sakura with such immediate and overwhelming force that she would have had to use her chakra enhanced strength to free herself from his hold. She decided to go along with it, even though he didn't know she was capable of pushing him away, curious to see how far he would go until he woke up.

So, Sakura merely responded as Gaara ground his hips into hers, flush against her; the warmth of his skin on hers making her tremble in anticipation. His teeth grazed her lips before he bit down, hard and she gasped.

"Ssss..."

Whatever word he was trying to pronounce was lost on him as Sakura lowered her hand between his thighs. He responded eagerly to her ministrations, jack-knifed as she squeezed him, and then went still. She looked up at him—he was awake. The shock on his face slowly faded as she smiled, and Gaara groaned.

Embarrassment and guilt flooded through him and his cheeks burned. That dream had been so vivid. "Sorry," he mumbled apologetically, closing his eyes.

"It's okay, Gaara," Sakura said softly, removing her hand from him to stroke his hair instead. "I don't mind."

Opening his eyes again, he stared down at the dark-haired woman, surprised. Then he smirked, lowering his head, and touching their foreheads, as he licked his lips. Finally realising, in his newly awakened state, what she'd meant, he didn't speak, now resuming the motion of his hips as his hand made its way between her legs. His fingers found their way inside her again; familiar chakra coursed through her and she remembered vividly how great it felt the first time. Gods above, he could market that technique and make a small fortune! Shinobi all around the known world would love to know there was a sure-fire way of preventing conception with chakra control alone.

She vaguely noted that this skill must be a one-use ability that needed repeating every time, before her mind officially shut down.

She kissed him again, and bit down hard on his bottom lip when he pushed into her. He filled every inch of her, straining against her nerve: now seated fully inside her, he paused, pulling his mouth away from hers. She'd bitten him, drawing his blood into her and Sakura looked up at him as he smirked. His biceps were straining, but he didn't care. The sight of the beautiful woman underneath him was _perfect_ ; flushed skin, heaving breasts, and ethereal glow.

And Gaara let himself go. He wasn't the morning after type of guy, since connecting with people wasn't really his thing—beyond the bonds that had led him to being Kazekage, of course—but sometimes, it was nice to just pretend that what he had was special. So, he moved; he thrust, inhaled her scent, and melted into her, until all he could hear was his heartbeat, pulsing in time with hers. He felt his sand as it moved with them and smiled to himself as the flushed body beneath him convulsed. He came a moment later, still holding her for dear life and suddenly his mind unclouded... his first thought lingered on her, on how different this morning had been from last night.

And then he rolled off of her, not moving from within her as she held onto him; she closed her eyes, murmuring his name, and he smiled for real.

Gaara ran a hand over her body gently, listening to her breathing as it evened out and deepened, sleep taking her once again. He wasn't quite sure what to think of her, since she was the second person of the female species in his life that he'd had any kind of feelings for, beyond relieving his base urges. He didn't know what to do with the other crush, this crush, or how to decide which one was real. He didn't want to ask Temari, since his sister didn't like Sayuri, and Kankuro would just reduce the decision he had to make down to "who was better in the sack".

Could it really be as simple a decision as that? And then there was the fact that Sayuri was a civilian—not a problem for other Shinobi, but for a Kage, it was a big deal.

He sighed, adjusting Sayuri gently, in his arms, so he could stare out the window. He was no longer tired, and once the sun began to rise, peeking into his room like an ethereal lover, Gaara decided he had delayed long enough. He had a string of meetings to go to, and now felt strange at the prospect that the woman now sharing his bed was his secretary...

Sayuri would just have to forgive him for leaving before she woke.

Gaara took one last glance at her before heading into the shower. He was going to be busy today, not only with the council, but foreign dignitaries. He found that, as the new Kazekage, he could not make himself take former alliances as lightly as his father had. When the fourth Kazekage had taken office, nothing had changed—he'd retained the policies of the Kage before him and supported the council, because that was how it had always been. But Gaara wasn't his father. He could never be so indolent and power hungry at the same time.

And there was that other thing: something strange was definitely happening to him, and it had started with the dream he'd just been having. There were numerous Shinobi, all standing in a circle, and closing ranks to keep him from escaping. He didn't have chakra, or any weapons, and his sand was non-responsive. For the first time in his life, he felt completely helpless. The ninja all bore the leaf insignia, and their faces were masked, but not ANBU. He remembered something about a single Kunoichi standing outside the circle, just watching as the others attacked him, but nothing else about her.

And then the scene had shifted, and that Kunoichi was beneath him, moaning his name wantonly. He'd woken soon after, realising that he'd taken this out on Sayuri. Embarrassed didn't quite cover how he felt, despite the fact that she'd had no problem with it. Then there was the guilt.

Growling, Gaara forced himself to focus on the task at hand, and turned the faucet on, holding his hand out to test the temperature before stepping under the water. He was already naked, and a clean set of his Kazekage robes was always in the bathroom, since he often made his way to the shower in a daze, forgetting to bring anything with him. Temari and Kankuro had both insisted upon it with the maids, having been victims of his forgetfulness before.

Absentmindedly, Gaara sent his sand to check on Sayuri as he lathered and rinsed. She was moaning his name in her sleep again, pulling the sheets along with her as she rolled over.

"Shit."

He broke the connection with his Third Eye, banging his head against the tiled wall. And now he had another hard on...

**...**

The best source of information was straight from the horse's mouth—or so Tenzou had always believed. Even in an undercover mission, he'd always been able to extract intelligence from the enemy. And despite what he told Sakura—jokingly of course—he knew the difference between a Suna ninja and a henchman for Orochimaru. The enemy was easier to wrest secrets from. He felt no concern for them, no worries over a target who was planning to assassinate a daimyo to move a pawn of his own design into place instead. And on top of that, he didn't need to worry about having to come back to work the next day and pretend he had no idea how that stray kunai _accidentally_ made a happy smile where the man's mouth should have been.

He liked that aspect of assassinations.

Not that they'd been sent to Suna to kill the Kazekage but remembering how much more fun it was to skulk around in shadows, and never be seen both before and after the kill made him nostalgic. He missed ANBU and decided then and there to put in a request for transfer once he returned to Konoha.

To hell with the sleazy women his Samurai persona seemed to draw in like a magnet...

Tenzou's eye twitched—he was supposed to be paying attention to the Hanshi (Grand Master) of this dojo. But the man was prattling on to his students, explaining a grappling version of the "four-directional throw" (shihōnage) and all "Hayato" could concentrate on was the small group of young women ( _definitely_ overage) in the corner, casting him not-so-subtle "undress me with your eyes" signals.

He considered himself average looking—nothing to brag about, but nothing to run away screaming from either—and in the short time he and Sakura had been in Suna, Tenzou had made quite a name for himself. The dojo students in this hidden village were good, but since ninja didn't frequent them, they focused on the more traditional, wind country fighting styles. Shihōnage was actually a skill within the teachings of Aikido—something known throughout all the lands, even if only in a select circle. Unlike the ninja, and the samurai, the followers of Aikido learnt the martial art purely in defence. Even the daimyo of each land (and by extension the noble families) didn't bother with this style.

But Aikido was fast becoming popular amongst civilians, and this dojo was a prime example of it, as a synthesis of martial arts, philosophy, and religion. It translated as "the Way of unifying with life energy" or "the Way of harmonious spirit". Tenzou didn't get it though: what was the point of a martial art that protected both the defender _and_ attacker from harm?

It had to be something to do with his ninja instincts; he didn't care if someone who attacked him got hurt for their troubles.

So, he'd come here to watch, fascinated by the technique, even if only as an observer. The women in the corner were giggling now, and he wondered if they came here often... It was lucky for the current students that the Hanshi was teaching Aikido today—Tenzou remembered the man loved putting his students through the ringer (akin to the overzealous training sessions of Maito Gai) and the highlight of his day was when they hit the mat training area hard enough to bruise or break in one go. And as much as Tenzou enjoyed the show the Grand Master was putting on; he couldn't fight the urge to wink back at his decidedly attractive _female_ admirers.

...okay, he was starting to scare himself now.

Point: he wasn't surprised by the eager looks the students were giving him, as he had shown them some samurai moves he'd learnt "back home", his first day here, and every time he entered the dojo, it was a countdown to how long it would be before they practically _begged_ him to beat them senseless. But he was _mildly_ surprised by the women.

He was here to work, not play. The fact that only civilians came to this dojo, and that the oldest son of the owner was the personal assistant to one of the Suna Council Elders, made it a decent place to set up shop, so to speak. The people here were relaxed, talked a bit too much after a few drinks, and had started to treat "Hayato" like one of the family.

He knew Sakura was feeling guilty for seducing the Kazekage because she had feelings for him before now, and Tenzou felt the familiar uncertainty when speaking with these people, but he was an expert at pushing those concerns away. If he were still green around the ears like Sakura, he'd definitely emphasise with her. But a part of his job (especially at this dojo), was to ease her burden. Naruto had specifically asked him to make this as easy as possible for her. This wasn't her element, and he knew that once it was all over, Sakura was going to return to Konoha hating herself. He understood her position, but it was frustrating. He felt protective of all the former members of Team Kakashi despite his claim otherwise—he just hoped this didn't bite Sakura in the butt once she met Gaara again, as herself.

"Hayato!"

The familiar voice snapped him out of his reverie, and as usual, Tenzou was heavily reminded of Gai when the Grand Master strode toward him, a flashy smile and boisterous greeting his only warning before the man enveloped him in a hug. Haruka pulled back but kept his grip on the samurai's shoulders.

"Great to see you; I was just thinking of upping the ante and getting a medic in here, just in case."

The man excelled at teaching—Haruka Soutai was the Grand Master for a reason—but he was still a sadist.

"Haruka-san," Tenzou returned the greeting gruffly.

The Hanshi grinned wickedly. "Hayato-danna, you here to knock these pipsqueaks off their feet?"

If civilians used code, then that was it: again, Haruka was challenging him. The students weren't the only ones who wanted their arses kicked. So Tenzou humoured him, relinquishing his nodachi temporarily, and stepping into the ring (rhetorically speaking, as the mats actually formed a square, rather than a circle).

"You're looking a bit small there yourself," the samurai taunted. "What do you say to a wager?"

"As long as I get to keep my dignity this time."

"I make no promises."

"The loser buys the drinks at The Shady Corner."

Haruka was the taller of the men—Tenzou stood in at 178 centimetres, and the Grand master was almost 200—but had yet to beat him. It was a sad, sad affair that the man wouldn't let it go, though he understood Haruka's desire to best him. It reminded him of how Gai was always challenging Kakashi.

_Oh well._

Who needed dignity?

So Tenzou fell into the familiar stance, and held his arms up and out, almost like he was preparing to use the Hyuuga's jyuuken strike. This was really nothing like it though, as he had no idea where Haruka's chakra points were, and this little duel of theirs was supposed to be chakra free anyway. No matter what, he didn't underestimate the man, seeing that the Grand Master had lasted longer against him every time, so Tenzou took his time, looking for that inevitable moment to strike back—that was how he presented himself in this persona. He tried to take his opponent down in one strike... unless he was deliberately taunting him.

So, he parried, blocked, and ducked, and it wasn't long before Haruka gave him an opening. Tenzou's body tensed, and he avoided the bait. He would not be tricked that easily. Students stood outside the ring, spurring them both on and, the adrenaline rushing through him, the samurai made his own opening, flooring Haruka forcefully.

"You're learning," he taunted jokingly.

"Hmph."

Tenzou offered his hand to him. "Thirsty?"

"I think I'm gonna need something strong, to forget how humiliating that was."

Tenzou scoffed as Haruka took the offered hand and climbed to his feet. "Now _that_ , I understand."

Their favourite bar was not empty but could be mistaken for being at least only half-full—The Shady Corner was named as such for a reason. This was a place they would be overheard in (it was just expected), even if there was nothing juicy to talk about. Sand from the low-laying backstreet outside swept into the establishment as they entered, as it always did. Tenzou had been to Suna before, but entering this place without a henge, or any kind of cover other than a fake name left him more wary than normal. Still, he carried his nodachi on his belt as usual, and that should at least deter the smarter patrons from messing with him—the rest would be stupid and consequently easy to deal with.

"Two firebirds," Haruka barked at the barkeep, before ushering Tenzou to a corner booth.

Getting Shinobi drunk wasn't so easy, unless they were close friends, like he was with a lot of leaf ninja, and loosing Haruka's tongue was simpler—though based on the same strategy. The guy liked him; it was obvious. Still, he held his liquor well, and after several embarrassing rounds of "who can fart and burp at the same time?" (hours had passed, and the day was almost over) the inebriated man finally said something of value (Tenzou had stopped drinking the heavier cocktails hours ago, and his drinking buddy hadn't noticed).

Funny drunkards were entertaining, if nothing else.

"Your son?" The wood master asked, wondering where that random comment had come from.

Haruka nodded. "He got promoted."

"Is there really any civilian position higher than personal assistant to a hidden village councillor?"

Haruka's son, Tatsuo Soutai, would've made a good Shinobi, but like his father, had deliberately avoided the ninja academy—they were Suna natives. Things were different there now, better even, but neither of them regretted it.

"How about inter-civil advisor to foreign liaisons?" The Grand Master slurred.

Tenzou whistled. "What does that mean?"

He knew what it meant of course; he couldn't come out and say it though. This sounded... _interesting_. Since when did Suna use civilians outside of governmental officials in foreign negotiations?

"It means he's moving up," the drunken, shihōnage expert blew a raspberry at him, despite looking thoroughly pleased as he clanked his glass against Hayato's long since emptied one, knocking it over. "Getting international recognition."

Tenzou picked up the fallen glass up absentmindedly, his mind reeling. That meant Gaara had a plan in place already, where the current regime was concerned, for changing it.

"Yep," Haruka burped out, remembering now to lower his voice. "And the rumour is that the Kazekage is looking for new allies."

**...**

The sun would set soon and Gaara was getting restless. He hadn't expected to be delayed so long, wanting to return to his home, and explain his absence to Sayuri, despite the fact that he'd already left a note for her. He knew she wouldn't be there, and he'd have to track her down, but whatever. He _really_ didn't want to be in these meetings anymore. Any break they took wasn't long enough for him to go off and look for his new lover, so he bore the tediousness. It wasn't until the alliance with Konohagakure was finally brought up that he had the thought to just get up and leave. This issue didn't need to be addressed just yet, but he forced himself to remain seated as the councillors went over the propositions.

Kankuro, ever present and with surprisingly more interest in these talks than his Kazekage brother, was suddenly annoyed. "The leaf?" He asked. "Are you serious?"

Gaara shifted uncomfortably. "This isn't important; I've already stated what I think needs to change there, and I won't be changing my mind."

Kankuro turned to scowl at him—he ignored the shock on the faces of the council at his obvious disrespect. "And don't you think that's a little too hasty? They're our allies."

"You sound like Temari-san," one of the council members said, and Kankuro glared at him. Yoshito was a nasty old man, and none of the sand siblings liked him. The feeling was mutual. "You need to remember to put Suna first," he said.

Gaara interrupted as his brother opened his mouth, before Kankuro could retort. "We all put Suna first. The question is timing—there is no need to go over this again without further information, as our intelligence is incomplete. _That_ problem," he added forcefully, as Yoshito attempted to interrupt. "Will be solved soon."

They all knew what he meant, and fell silent obediently, though reluctantly. It wasn't time yet.

Instead, Gaara called the meeting to an end and used his sand to Shunshin out quickly, before anyone could stop him.

Kankuro glanced at the spot where Gaara had disappeared from, knowing that the younger man was intent on a hot shower, and to find his newest lover, thinking. He'd told his brother of his suspicions, that he'd felt weird after walking into his room in the middle of the night (though Gaara had chalked that up to realising his brother was naked, and _not_ alone), but that later, after his head had cleared somewhat, he was sure there had been some kind of genjutsu at work. Paranoia was _not_ Kankuro's middle name (he was pretty sure it was something dumb like "shit for brains" because apparently, his first words had actually been just as crass), but he didn't know what to trust—his instincts or suspicions. He wanted to trust Sayuri, he really did, but despite what Temari reiterated every time he said something vulgar, he wasn't _stupid_.

**...**

She was attempting to organise everything she'd learned so far when her thoughts were interrupted by the knock on her door. Sakura felt instantly alert, pushing back her instinct to search the chakra signature on the other side, and knowing full well that Tenzou wouldn't be back for few hours. She'd reconciled her feelings, deciding the damage was done, and the only thing left for her to do now was just make sure that this somehow helped her figure out what Gaara was up to. When this was over, she would return to the leaf, return to her life, and just pretend it never happened.

And yet it was incredibly unnerving, the idea of facing Gaara again, after their night together and not just that they'd slept together, or she'd finally answered her three-year question of what he looked like naked. No, it was the prospect of seeing _him_ doing the whole, mentally undressing thing... or perhaps the idea that he wouldn't. They had yet to have their "morning after" talk, and she was terrified about how he planned to treat her now. The images from the night before flashed across her mind again; Sakura fought back the blush, reminding herself that she had an unexpected guest, and pushed herself to her feet. Hesitating only for a moment, she opened the door; surprised by what she saw, she almost slammed the door in Temari's face. Instead, she gripped the wood tighter, absentmindedly wondering if Tenzou felt more or less at home in places made of wood.

"T-Temari?"

"Can I come in?" The blonde asked, her face impassive.

Sakura nodded, opening the door all the way open and stepping aside. All fears of Gaara left her head—Temari was scarier, but she didn't look pissed.

"You've probably guessed why I'm here," the blonde said, once Sakura had closed the door.

"Gaara."

Temari nodded. "But this time, I'm not here to threaten you."

"Oh?" _That_ was a surprise.

"No, I'm here to warn you."

Sakura frowned. "That sounds like a threat."

Temari deigned to give her a twisted smile. "I'm not warning you about me. I'm not as scary as what's coming."

…

XXX

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the cliff hanger. It's not what you're thinking... probably. ;) Also, things are a bit more serious right now, and are going to escalate soon, but I'll try to keep the humour in here, in some shape or form. Lotsa love! ^_^


	8. Best Intentions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumour has it that the new Kazekage is difficult to please and can't be trusted. Unable to confirm or deny this, the Hokage decides to send his best friend to test Gaara. Naruto had it all figured out: Sakura plus seduction equals one very *satisfied* Kazekage. AUish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From one perspective, this chapter looks like a filler, but it's important too—and a steppingstone to bigger and more exciting things. Enjoy! ^_^

…  
Chapter Eight: Best Intentions.  
...

Temari loved being waited on (in a domestic sense, not as a Kunoichi), so watching the strange, dark haired girl as she rummaged through cupboards, half climbed into the refrigerator and then snapped at the kettle to hurry up and boil, gave her a special kind of _happy_. Her temperament was fascinating to watch, and knowing that Sayuri was obviously intimidated by her, the blonde quite liked this side of the weird, unpredictable civilian. Making this girl squirm moments after meeting her had been an incomparable kind of thrill, true, but this was still nice. Back then, this girl had just been a potential fangirl, no matter how "conservative" her clothes had been. Nutcases came in all shapes and sizes after all. But she was different—the variety of things Temari could do to make her uncomfortable seemed endless.

She'd decided it might be nice to keep these kinds of people around.

Her arms crossed over her chest, she tapped her arm pensively, looking around the small apartment. It was _quaint_ , compared to the Kazekage mansion, but she supposed, for a civilian, Sayuri and her flatmate didn't need as much room. That elusive brother of Sayuri's was apparently a samurai, and Kankuro had warned Temari that he was just a well-behaved nut job, as far as nut jobs went. He was a retired samurai, and as a result, not technically loyal to any village or country; the name Hayato Nakayama struck fear, but only in the underground. He was one of those shady characters that only did enough to stay out of the bingo books.

Not that it mattered.

"Do you prefer Jasmine Tea or Green Tea?" Sayuri called from the kitchen.

"Jasmine," Temari replied, her eyes now falling on the sofa; she'd yet to sit down, despite the offer from Sayuri, as the blonde didn't feel comfortable getting comfortable in other peoples' homes—even the new and/or temporary ones. And the Nakayama siblings had definitely made this their home, if the pictures, strewn books, and unorganised, miscellaneous objects were anything to go by.

Temari sighed in exasperation when the dark-haired girl finally re-entered the living room (carrying a single, steaming teacup) and gave her an irritated look for having not taken the offered seat. She'd rehearsed it in her head, the things she needed to say, but nothing ever came out right. She wasn't here to warn Sayuri against herself, Kankuro or even someone who could actually be negotiated or reasoned with, like for example, the council. She felt tetchy just thinking about this. This conversation was going to make her sound absolutely bat shit crazy.

Temari accepted the tea and took a sip to calm herself: Jasmine was one of her favourites, actually.

After a moment, Sakura sat down, fidgeting. "I know the whole protective, big sister routine—it's the same for brothers, and I get it all the time from Hayato. I understand where you're coming from, but..."

All of Team Seven, actually—they were an unruly bunch when it came to "protecting" her.

"I'm not _trying_ to hurt him," Sakura said softly, meeting those dark green eyes full on. "I promise."

She'd had a crush on Gaara for years. The idea of hurting him honestly would never occur to her. But a part of Sakura was regretting this mission—he had obviously enjoyed their time together more than she'd anticipated, and the Kazekage wasn't some heartless bastard who fucked and then moved on. He was better than that. She wasn't going to part with him on good terms... call it a gut feeling. Nothing good was going to come out of this, and she hated herself for it.

Sakura had honest eyes. She wore her heart on her sleeve. And despite the colour change of her eyes to disguise her identity, she couldn't hide _this_. Temari smiled at her; the first genuine smile that the former pinkette had seen on her since this ridiculous mission began.

"I came here to find out what your intentions are with Gaara," Temari said tentatively. "And I get that you don't want to hurt him... It's just, his fangirls..." She trailed off, looking uncomfortable; her hands clasped her teacup almost possessively.

"I know," Sakura said. "They're insane."

The blonde laughed. "Yeah, they are. They're also dangerous."

Sakura frowned at her, not convinced, shaking her head slightly.

"Firstly, I have to know, are you going to see Gaara again?"

Sakura hadn't spoken to Gaara all day, so maybe she was reading too much into this whole fling, thing. But she wanted to see him again, regardless. "If he wants to," she said honestly.

And _that_ was what Temari was worried about—if the decision was solely up to Gaara, she didn't see her little brother stopping any time soon. She sighed.

"Alright, then you need to be careful. Of _all_ the bimbo fangirls," the blonde added, when her rapt audience returned to looking sceptical.

"What do you mean?"

Temari sighed, now taking the offered seat (holding her cup tightly). "A long time ago, the council made it so that the Kazekage _must_ marry a Kunoichi. It doesn't state anything other than that, since a lot of the documents from the aftermath of the war that preceded the forming of the great nations was lost, but it's an unspoken agreement that Gaara is going to marry a Kunoichi one day, not a civilian. His fangirls fall into both categories."

"I get that."

But really, she _didn't_. Sakura had never understood how some nations could hold unspoken agreements up like they were holy. Arranged marriages were expected in the more noble houses—clans, close knit communities, for example—and the idea of marrying for love was a lot newer than people realised. It was sweet, but not the accepted norm for people in any kind of power. Sakura had promised herself when she was a child that she would marry for love and she found it difficult to respect those who didn't, but on some level, she _understood_. It would be too easy to wake up one day and realise that the world was going to leave her behind. Of all her friends, back in Konoha, she was the only one that didn't have some kind of life plan.

At this rate, she was going to end up like Kakashi. That thought alone made her want to hurry up. But she _was_ like him—anyone she'd loved either didn't love her or died.

Sakura visibly shook herself of her morbid thoughts.

"It's politics," Temari said. She _really_ didn't want to explain that part of it, but the meaning was clear... ish.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you saying that the council might do something to me?"

Temari laughed. "Dear Kami, _no_." Her laughter died down to a giggle—a little nervous perhaps. "The council are used to Gaara's flings and don't seem to care who he sleeps with, prior to marriage," Temari added, waving her hand in the air. "Not that he's anywhere near as bad as they claim though." She smiled. "No, you wouldn't bother them, _if_ they actually do know about you."

Sakura nodded slowly. If she were indeed Sayuri Nakayama, and not herself, she might actually believe that story. Oh, she knew that they wouldn't approach her, threaten her or have her "mysteriously" disappear—there was no need, since she wasn't a candidate to marry Gaara—but they would definitely care about her involvement with the redhead potentially tainting the Kazekage's image. And by default, the hidden sand village. It was just good politics.

But Temari didn't know she knew how closely the councils of every hidden village probed into the love lives of their Kage (or respective leader, if not a Great Nation).

_She really_ _**is** _ _trying to be nice to me._

This was weird.

"I still don't get it."

"The fact that Gaara will wed a ninja when the time comes is common knowledge amongst his fangirls. What I'm trying to say is that the Kunoichi of this village, and the female civilians, have an agreement."

Sakura baulked. "Agreement?"

Bat shit crazy.

"It's rather twisted, and I don't know the full details, but you're new, and a foreigner to boot, so kind of free-game too."

Sakura's eyes widened. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Uh," Temari rubbed her chin nervously. "Since you're a civilian, they probably won't do anything—not the Kunoichi, I mean. But the civilians will still see you as a threat to whatever it is, they agreed to with the ninja fangirls. If you and Gaara go on long enough, I'm not sure what the Kunoichi will do. Um... I feel stupid saying it like that. Please tell me you understand, so I don't have to repeat myself."

"Uh... huh."

This was insane.

Sakura nodded slowly, feeling slightly terrified now. The law about the Kaze-hime (not to mention similar ones for the other nations) was familiar to her, since she'd done Kage level paperwork before. The Mizukage was currently engaged to a Shinobi from a neighbouring nation, after all. She figured this meant that Temari was really only warning her to keep her eyes peeled, not that one of those crazy fangirls was going to murder her in her sleep.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

"But how can I be a threat to any agreement, long term?" she asked.

"I don't know," Temari said, standing up. "You're not eligible to dash anyone's hopes of marrying him, but if Gaara holds onto you as tightly as I think he's going to, they could cause trouble. Just... be safe, okay?"

Sakura had been listening to every word Temari was saying, the entire time, but was surprised by the concern in her voice.

"I believe you when you said you don't want to hurt him," the blonde reiterated, answering her silent question. "I know I didn't trust you before, and I was rude, but Sayuri—" (Sakura shuddered at that) "—you wear your heart on your sleeve, and that makes you easy to read. You really care about him, so I promise I won't be on your back anymore."

Sakura nodded. After that long-winded explanation, she was just grateful that Temari was one less thing she needed to worry about.

"I better go."

Sakura followed the blonde to the door, opening it for her. "Thank-you for coming to me, Temari."

"Thank-you for opening the door."

The gruff voice startled them both. Sakura snapped her head toward the hallway outside her apartment to find a slightly swaying Tenzou staring at them interestedly—which only made the former pinkette wonder if he was indeed drunk.

"Not interrupting anything, am I?" Tenzou asked gruffly, grabbing the door frame for a moment, to balance himself. Not completely wasted, he managed to find his equilibrium a moment later, and wipe the dazed look off of his face. At least he managed to talk without slurring or stuttering.

"Temari," the blonde introduced herself, offering a hand to the samurai and watching him carefully for the signs of insanity that she'd heard of from Kankuro—not to mention Shuin as well. Speaking of which, she was getting the sneaking suspicion that Gaara had sent the ANBU who had hit on Sakura at that night club, The Zephyr, off somewhere on some long-term mission for no reason other than jealousy.

"Hayato," Tenzou grunted, grasping the blonde's hand with both of his own and turning her hand over. He peered at the lines on her palm. "Palm Reading dates back to before the forming of the Great Nations. Did you know that the first Daimyo of the land of wind loved having his fortune told?"

"No," she said, smiling at him. "I didn't."

He gave her a cheeky smirk. "Neither did his _wife_."

Temari gave a nervous chuckle. "Okay... goodbye."

Once Temari was gone, and the door closed, Tenzou sighed, leaning against the wall for support. "Such a pity."

"Did you just make a pass at Temari?" Sakura asked warily.

He shrugged. "Hayato likes 'em buxom."

"She's in a not-real-just-in-denial-but-is-actually-dating relationship with Shikamaru."

"Hayato doesn't know that."

"Does Tenzou?"

"Yamato."

Sakura frowned at him, wondering if he'd answer her if she asked him what his _real_ name is. "Multiple personality disorder?"

"You develop that after years in ANBU," he said dismissively. "I was already peculiar before that."

"So, we're blaming Orochimaru, then?"

"Whatever works."

"And you're _at least_ tipsy; in the middle of the day, I might add."

He grunted. "I just had a few—you should've seen Haruka, the Grand Master Extraordinaire!"

"Just take a pill or something, whatever you do to sober up, you stink."

"But I have information for you, my sweet, sweet, little lily."

Sakura was torn. She glanced toward the bathroom. "Shower first, shop talk later."

He shrugged and left her alone in the living room. Tenzou was having way too much fun with this mission—he had been acting peculiar from the moment they arrived, drink, or no drink.

Sakura thought about what Temari had said, as Tenzou did as he was told. She'd never thought of fangirls as dangerous before—back in Konoha, they hovered around guys like Neji Hyuuga (regardless of his "taken" status), but weren't crazy, in the psychotic sense. She couldn't do anything about it without jeopardising her cover, so Sakura decided to just let it go, for now. She just waited for Tenzou to finish instead—they made weekly reports that the wood master would then send off to Naruto, but if Tenzou had found out something important, they'd probably be contacting him sooner.

She looked up from her position on the couch when Tenzou finally exited the bathroom and stood up.

"What did Temari want?" He asked, still drying his hair as he stared at her pointedly. He _looked_ sober...

"To warn me that Gaara's fangirls are insane."

"You already know that."

Sakura smiled weakly. "Yeah, but this is on a whole other level, apparently."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I decided I'd jump off that bridge when I come to it."

"Don't you mean cross that bridge?"

She shrugged. "My way is more appropriate."

"Well whatever, we should pool what we've learnt so far."

Sakura nodded silently in agreement, following Tenzou's example as he sat on the living room couch.

"My contacts hang around the dojo mostly, so that's where I've been spending most of my time." He pulled out an envelope, opening its contents.

"They love you over there," Sakura said, fiddling with the pictures now strewn across the coffee table. "They stood there and let you photograph them?"

He grinned at her. "Yep: they were group photos, so no-one got suspicious."

"Oh, and look!" She snapped up a picture, showing Tenzou, and some blonde—she looked like an overpriced whore. "Here's you and Miss July!"

"She's a contact."

"Since when do whores know any politics?"

"Escort," he corrected her, swiping the photo back. "And you'd be surprised what men will tell a naked, beautiful woman."

Sakura frowned at the picture as Tenzou replaced it on the coffee table, feeling annoyed as her mind went straight to Gaara. That was what she had done to him, but he'd said nothing. She was just so clueless. "What did she tell you?"

"That the Kazekage's brother is good in the sack."

She laughed. "Kankuro?"

"Okay, so nothing substantial came from The Candy Suite, but it's still early."

"Great name for a brothel."

"Fascinating," he agreed. "But what I found out today is much more interesting—apparently, the Kazekage really isn't happy with his alliance with the leaf, and he might just be looking to replace Konoha."

Sakura let out a shuddering sigh and sat back against the couch. Her heart was pounding as she gripped a cushion tightly. This was too much. "How sure are you that Gaara is looking for other allies?"

"My contact at the dojo told me."

"But he's just a civilian," Sakura insisted. "What would he know about—"

"Sakura," he interrupted, and she let out another shuddering sigh. "Basic rule of covert espionage?"

"Civilians always know more than you think?"

He chuckled. "Not always, but often: civs from hidden villages at least." He sighed. "There's someone the Kazekage is communicating with, someone that has necessitated the need for a civilian liaison—my contact's son just got promoted from personal assistant to a councillor, to inter-civil advisor to foreign liaisons. He'll be a part of it, when this all goes down."

Sakura nodded silently, trying not to cry. She'd worked hard over the years, not to turn back into her former, blubbering self, and until now, it had worked. She needed to get a handle on her emotions; turning her head away from Tenzou, Sakura bit her bottom lip, _hard_ —her eyes were stinging, but that was all that happened, thankfully.

"I know you don't want Gaara to be the enemy," the wood master added sympathetically. "But if he is, then he is—there's nothing we can do about that."

Sakura fingered the cushion in her hands, refusing to answer Tenzou. But he saw through her forced calm.

"With that in mind," he said. "Maybe you should spend less time with him: just back off from your mission for a while."

Sakura scowled at him. "Even if I wanted or agreed to do that, don't you think he'd be a bit suspicious that I suddenly avoided him? Technically, I do work for him."

Tenzou smiled. "It's interesting how desperately wanting something can make even the lamest excuses seem justified."

"It's not lame, I _do_ work for him."

"Technically."

He chuckled as she groaned.

"We need to contact Naruto with this," he said. "I'll do it—you get some rest."

**...**

As soon as he was sure Sakura had fallen asleep, Tenzou started writing his letter to the Hokage. The former pinkette was more exhausted than she'd let on, worrying herself over what was going to happen with Gaara. And this in turn worried _him_. Naruto had asked that he keep him informed about Sakura's interest in Gaara. The blonde acted like an idiot a lot of the time, but he knew Sakura better than anyone, so wasn't blind to her three year-long crush on Gaara—despite having never seen the two of them in the same room before. It was a head scratcher, but Tenzou trusted he knew what he was doing.

Their weekly check-ins with the Hokage were via the summoning toads that Naruto would send to the apartment, so anything they needed to send to him outside of their scheduled contact would be difficult—it wasn't like they could risk using Suna provided messenger hawks, for example. But he'd decided upon their arrival in Suna that his Wood Clone would have to do. It wasn't without its risks, given everything, but he was positive he could make it work. This one would be a little different, as it needed to sneak out of Suna, and he would be transforming it, to hide its identity, but he believed he had the plan down pat.

The same thing went for the letter itself.

_Civilian contact has confirmed fears. However, investigation is ongoing, as contact has only circumstantial proof. Unknown, new player may be evidence needed. Will keep advised.  
T/S._

Short, but sweet.

The lack of attention and names on the letter was important. When he was in the ANBU, Tenzou remembered writing letters even more vague than this. But it wasn't finished yet. So, as a friend and not as a suspicious colleague (yet concurring with his Hokage's personal request), Tenzou added in postscript to the end of the coded message to keep him apprised of Sakura's growing affections for Gaara:

_p.s. Additionally,_ _**S** _ _is concerned for_ _**his** _ _well-being. Interest is increasing. d.s._

That was cryptic enough, he supposed—the **S** , was clearly Sakura, and **his** , being Gaara. He trusted that Naruto could figure that out. Still, things were going to get complicated on the Gaara/Sakura front, and that was one thing that Tenzou found himself mentally questioning Naruto over. This wasn't going to end well.

Tenzou had just finished encoding his message and rolling it up when he felt a chakra spike heading toward the apartment—well, the hallway outside at least—and he paused, to see if it would pass. It didn't. The chakra that had now stopped on the other side of the door was powerful, and he guessed it was the Kazekage. He knocked lightly; Tenzou hid his message scroll in his room, checked on Sakura, to confirm that she was still asleep and quickly moved to the door to open it. Feigning surprise came easily to him, so he decided that was the best reaction to seeing Gaara standing there, looking nervous, despite his stoic façade.

Tenzou didn't bother to ask him why he was here; he kept the door open, but didn't move out of the way for Gaara, if he decided to enter. "She's asleep."

"I see." Gaara looked past him. "May I come in?"

Tenzou grunted, stepping aside.

Gaara was quick to enter before the door was closed behind him. This was uncomfortable, even for him. He looked around, not concerned that this weird former samurai hadn't even offered him a beverage. He had no idea why he was here. He just wanted to see Sayuri, figure out where they stood now, and try not to sound like a woman as he did so. There was no future for them, considering her civilian status, and he found that knowledge more painful than the idea of sitting through one of Kankuro's "infamous" poetry readings.

"What's wrong with you?"

The samurai's sudden question startled him. "Excuse me?"

"You're a handsome man, apparently," Tenzou said. "You could have anyone you wanted. Why would you go after a civilian? The Kazekage has always married a ninja, not a civ, so why would you bother getting involved with one?"

Annoying the Kazekage probably wasn't the smartest move, but Hayato was reckless like that. Tenzou smiled inwardly at that—Sakura had been spot on about him enjoying this persona too much. It had served him well in the past, and he sure as hell wasn't going to change it now. Besides, even if he got clapped in chains overnight for his disrespect, he could handle it—what was temporary incarceration to a former ANBU? So, he was going to have fun with this situation.

Gaara frowned, letting his eyes drift over the _quaint_ apartment once more. _I should've left right away._

He sighed, refocusing his attention on the samurai, who was staring at him oddly.

The Kazekage didn't answer him, and Tenzou sighed, letting it go. Given that Gaara was not an idiot in disguise (unlike Naruto—and Tenzou would loyally deny that statement, even on his deathbed) he knew that the Kazekage was not as easily scared as the Hokage, but he put his best scary face on as he spoke dangerously, yet eerily calm to the Kazekage.

"I trained with some Kirigakure ninja a few years back, so I know a few of their water jutsu—perfect against sand." He gave a twisted smile as Gaara's eye twitched. "So, don't break her heart, okay?"

…

XXX

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now wasn't that the perfect big brother speech? ;) Lotsa love! ^_^


	9. Affairs of the Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumour has it that the new Kazekage is difficult to please and can't be trusted. Unable to confirm or deny this, the Hokage decides to send his best friend to test Gaara. Naruto had it all figured out: Sakura plus seduction equals one very *satisfied* Kazekage. AUish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Way back when, a bunch of reviewers (on ff net) asked what inspired this story. (And I explained in the AN of this chapter.) Long story short:  
> There once was a GaaSaku story called **Gaara's Sex-Ed** that made me want to write a GaaSaku humour multi. It was the first thought that eventually led to My Enemy, My Friend. But MEMF was actually set in motion by my love of KakaSaku. Seduction missions are predominantly a KakaSaku cliché. But in that pairing, it's mostly Sakura losing her virginity to Kakashi so she can go on seduction missions. I got the idea in my head of merging my OTP (GaaSaku) with one of my favourite non-GaaSaku clichés but obviously, My Enemy, My Friend is different again.
> 
> If anyone was wondering this, that should clear things up. Enjoy! ^_^

…  
Chapter Nine: Affairs of the Heart.  
...

Night-time was a thing of beauty in the village hidden in the sand. The sky was always clear, the stars were always out, and romantics everywhere were gushing over the idyllic atmosphere of the night air. And someone, somewhere, was getting his or her rocks off to some mellifluous tune: many, _many_ people... He was envious really—mostly because Sakura was having all the sex on this mission, and he had just spent the majority of his Friday night following old codgers around instead of getting lucky.

So much for his big brotherly advice that she steers clear of the overbearing Kazekage: but she wanted to stick close to him, no matter how this turned out. That and she was right—it would be far too suspicious for her to suddenly stop seeing him.

Sighing, Tenzou gazed up at the sky; through the open roof of the bathhouse, he had the perfect view of the crescent moon. It was brilliant against the stars, but not bright.

Perfect...

Yeah, he was a romantic at heart; he was still looking for the "one" though. Most ninja never found him/her, and he heard it was the same for civilians. People just weren't as lucky as they thought.

Thought...

It made him think of Sakura, her crush on Gaara, and everything Naruto had told him about it before they'd embarked on this mission.

" _She's infatuated, Yamato, but she won't do anything about it,"_ Naruto had said.

" _So, you'll force her into a seduction mission just to get her over to Suna?"_

" _Nah, she has a choice, sensei."_

Sensei...

Old habits of martial authority were hard to break. As Hokage, Naruto outranked all of his surviving, former sensei's, and yet still couldn't address them as anything but. Kakashi had been in the room too, and from what Tenzou could tell, already knew everything Naruto was saying.

" _It's a risk,"_ the copy-ninja agreed with the wood master. _"But one that she otherwise refuses to take: don't worry, it'll work out."_

Tenzou had glared at him then. _"It's not a risk—it's downright reckless."_

But the conversation had continued, and Tenzou understood a little more of what was going through Naruto's head: still, it bothered him. Until this was all over, and Sakura was _definitely_ not heart-broken, he wasn't going to relax. No matter how much faith Naruto had in both Sakura and Gaara, Tenzou didn't trust the redhead. He was a Kage, popular, powerful, and despite the tribulations he'd experienced in his young life, was not above hurting others—accidentally or no.

"You're an odd man."

Tenzou looked over at the men nearby—the one that had spoken was Councillor Noboru, a man who had a penchant for stating the obvious. What the hell was he going on about now?

Tenzou "hn'd" him, mildly disrespectfully. "Says the black tea pot."

The other councillors (there were five of them here tonight) gave Hayato varying degrees of expressions, from shocked to annoyed, to downright pissed off. But Noboru just shrugged, like he'd expected that response.

"We all need a bit of R&R once in a while."

Two hours... two hours of following them around, to see where they were going, then beating them to the onsen to assuage any suspicion, and to get them to finally speak around him.

He could handle any shite they had to say.

Besides, following a handful of the Sunagakure councillors around hadn't been a picnic, and he was glad he could rest in the hot springs afterward. Tenzou smirked at the older man. "Because Friday nights were meant for _pleasure_."

Noboru chuckled. "Indeed."

Tenzou let his gaze drift back toward the night sky. From the southern sand tower, the civilian district was a clear route for ninja, and it was there that he'd realise where these old men had been heading. He had followed them, from the western district, to the north western tower, then south, south-west, west, and finally, to the southern sand tower, making a distinct beeline for the southernmost onsen in the village. They were careful as they moved, in how they moved, and how they checked to make sure that no-one was following them—no less than he expected, from such high-level ninja. It made his success in finally pinning them down all the more satisfying. He decided to use one of his own versions of the Mokuton abilities he inherited, for this one.

The paranoid gits.

But it had actually been a lot of fun.

_I need to get out more._

Tenzou wasn't sure what his play here was going to be, until they were _graced_ with the presence of a sixth councillor—Shin. He remembered that the man's personal assistant was in a budding friendship with Sakura and perked up when he heard the feminine voice through the screen that separated the male and female sections of the onsen.

_This_ was his play.

_And I am in no way compensating for my recent, abysmal sex life,_ he thought, trying to convince himself.

He gave it a few minutes before leaving the springs and heading into the changing rooms. Placing a bug on a councillor was not something he had been looking forward to—mostly with the risk factor—but Shin was apparently the councillor who dealt directly with Gaara the most. So, Yoshiko Mori was the easier (but not necessarily easy) target. If the two were as close as he'd heard, then Yoshiko would most likely hear everything Tenzou needed to know.

He just needed to wait for her, outside the _women's_ changing area.

"And who are you?"

He looked up at her as she approached, noting he'd only been waiting for half an hour—she moved quick.

"Hayato Nakayama," he grunted.

"Ah, Sayuri's brother." She held out her hand. "It's a pleasure."

He smirked, taking her hand and kissing it lightly. She didn't blush, but he noted the way her eyes appraised him intently.

"It doesn't explain why you're waiting here," she said, moving behind a partition to change.

"Sayuri's been tied up with the Kazekage," he said, mentally shivering at that image. "And I suppose I'm lonely."

Yoshiko stepped out a minute later, curiosity keeping her from calling him a pervert and chasing him out of the bathhouse. He appraised her also. She was in her mid-thirties, from the looks, and from what he'd heard from Sakura, had a preteen daughter. Tenzou was glad that Sakura had been spending a lot of her off time with Yoshiko (if only she'd spend less with the Kazekage). Their budding friendship reminded him of the one the pinkette had with Shizune, the former fifth Hokage's apprentice.

He sighed. Those were the days.

"I'm heading home," she said finally, a cheeky smirk challenging him. "My daughter's with friends for the weekend and I have the place to myself."

She was testing him—both to see how he'd react to the fact that she was a mother, and whether or not he'd be willing to go home with the woman he just met. The latter was obvious, he thought.

Yoshiko was attractive enough, he supposed; Tenzou could understand why the old man, Councillor Shin, kept her around. She was older than him, but that didn't bother him. It bothered Hayato even less. He grinned, returning her cheeky smirk.

"I wouldn't say no to a night cap."

No more words were necessary. She gathered up her things and led the way. More excited than he'd anticipated and grinning, Tenzou followed her out of the onsen, with every intention of following up on his recent comment of pleasure. It was after all, the perfect way to bug someone without them noticing.

**...**

It was almost sunrise, the following Sunday morning (the 14th of July), and Sakura was nervous. Every Sunday they talked with Naruto via his summons, and even though she wouldn't hear his energetic voice, the scrawls that passed as his writing always made her feel like he was right there with her.

She missed him.

She wanted to hug him.

She wanted to strangle him.

And every time, he asked her inappropriate questions about Gaara's _performance_.

It was driving her mad.

Sitting next to Tenzou, she fidgeted—he didn't comment. They weren't arguing, but the fact that she was still seeing Gaara outside of being his personal assistant was bothering him. But it wasn't like they were going public, with the hand holding, dating, whatever. Sakura understood Gaara's wariness about parading what they were doing in front of the populous. He was the Kazekage after all, and she his lowly secretary. Neither of them knew _what_ they had, just that they wanted to keep doing it.

So, they ate dinner at his place, did what other couples did on dates (just behind closed doors), and woke up naked, wrapped around each other. She knew this was all going to end when her mission was over so, she was milking it for all it was worth. And she avoided his more diehard fan girls, just to be on the safe side.

She was terrified, but euphoric at the same time, while in his arms...

The same toad that they always communicated with their Hokage via made its scheduled appearance in the small but empty koi pond (in the apartment block where they were living, as few places in Suna were compatible with the toad's aquatic needs), as the sun glinted orange at them as it started to rise into the air. The people in this apartment complex were all civilian and therefore less likely to wake this early—they _never_ did.

Tenzou was sitting on the rocks encircling the pond, having positioned himself to block the view of the toad summons just in case anyone did peek outside their doors while they were writing their responses to Naruto. Sakura ignored the look on his face—ever since she'd come home Saturday morning to find that he'd been out all night as well, and realised who he'd been with, she'd avoided the subject of sex around him. He still didn't approve of Gaara, Yoshiko was becoming a fast friend, and she thought of Tenzou as a big brother—big 'no-no' on the details... thank Kami very much.

She wasn't Ino, to who gossiping was as necessary as breathing—that and she'd never felt comfortable hearing about _anyone's_ sex life.

"Good morning," Sakura chimed to the toad (whose name she'd long since forgotten), and he croaked at her, producing a scroll in a puff of smoke. She took it, and Tenzou read over her shoulder:

" _Morning Sakura-chan, Yamato-sensei!  
Report please. Oh yeah, and Kakashi-sensei says "hi" from yesterday. Bastard's __**again**_ _too "busy" to get up this early. Lazy arse."_

These letters were never cryptic, as the summons allowed them the utmost secrecy, and Naruto was crazed, as usual.

Tenzou took the first round, responding with everything he'd learned—from the unsubstantial rumours to the ridiculous. It wasn't much, but that was what they got for taking a mission that was based solely on underground rumours.

" _Are you okay Sakura-chan?"_

She looked down at his second letter a few minutes after the toad had disappeared. His chicken scrawl indicated he'd written it quickly, so he'd obviously mused on it for a minute or two. Still, why must he read her so clearly? She wrote back (ignoring Tenzou's curious stare):

" _I'm fine Naruto."_

They waited a full thirty seconds before the toad reappeared with his response.

" _No, you're not. But I promise everything will work out—that's what Kakashi-sensei keeps telling me, so it must be true. ^_^ How did you go with the job aspect of keeping Gaara's bed warm? ;)"_

Sakura sighed, and looked up as Tenzou shifted slightly. "You don't have to hang around, you know."

"I'm staying," he said. "Besides, if I leave, and someone comes out and sees–"

"Yeah, whatever."

He just smiled at her, letting her take control of the back and forth with Naruto—since he seemingly had nothing more to add.

" _I'm trying to figure out how I feel, while making peace I suppose, with the fact that I'm lying to him."_

His reply was fast.

" _What's love but compromise, arguing, and lots of make-up sex? ;)"_

"What's love..." Sakura let that sentence get away from her.

" _Compromise, acceptance, and desire."_

" _Very wise Sakura-chan. ^_^ Do you have anything else to report?"_

Sakura looked at Tenzou, who nodded. "I put a bug on Yoshiko," he said. "She's close to Councillor Shin, who's the one that deals with Gaara most—it's our best shot now."

Sakura relayed this, and it took Naruto a full five minutes to respond.

" _I spoke with Shikamaru after your last communiqué, and he says "hi" and that Yoshiko and Shin were rumoured years ago to have had an affair. He was her sensei on her genin squad and the team was broken up after the rumours started. Then she fell pregnant and no-one knows who the father is."_

"Why do I feel like I'm in the middle of a soap opera?" Tenzou asked, annoyed.

Sakura bit her bottom lip. Yoshiko had yet to mention anything to her about Samara's father; she had the feeling that maybe the rumours were true, and the woman just couldn't bring herself to come out and admit it—when it came to such indiscretions, Suna was incredibly intolerant. She wasn't sure how Naruto thought this relevant thought. She sighed, and continued reading Naruto's letter:

" _Well, that's it. Let me know what comes of that route. I have to tell you that we've heard of movement along the borders between wind and birds. We think there's a ninja (not sure if rogue or not, but probably) gathering an army. It may not be connected to the rumours about Gaara, but it's said the leader was last seen heading toward wind's capital. Stay safe."_

Sakura chuckled, and responded.

" _I'll be safe, as long I don't act like you."_

She gave the scroll to the toad wondering, as it disappeared again, if it ever got annoyed doing this. Naruto's response was quick.

" _That's so mean Sakura-chan. Don't be naughty. ;P"_

Sakura just sighed, rolling her eyes at his cheek. "It's like this whole thing's a game to him."

"Naruto does give off that impression," Tenzou agreed.

He took the scroll, leaving his own remark in ink.

"Someone's coming," he said a moment later and quickly handed the letter back to the toad. "Tell him we had to leave."

The toad croaked in understanding and disappeared again.

They stood up and stepped away from the pond leisurely, glancing toward the noise Tenzou had heard.

It was just the landlord. The aging man could barely see three feet in front of him, but he was sweet. Sakura liked talking with him when she ran into him—he always had a new joke or two, and they shared the same sense of humour. She watched him trudge slowly up the staircase and all the way toward the apartment three doors down from the one she shared with her faux brother, before using his cane to knock on the wood.

"Mrs Kiyomizu is late with her rent again." Tenzou noted.

**...**

"Rumour has it he's looking for an old gold mine that never actually ran dry."

"Wrong; he's looking for a wife—one with big bazookas."

"You're pathetic."

"Hey, he's a little on the short side for a guy—he's gotta compensate somehow."

"Like you?"

"..."

"The council's on his arse about that, huh?"

"I hear it's actually his sister pushing him into it."

"The blonde chick with the pigtails?"

"Yeah-huh."

"She's scary. I'd find a wife to get her off my arse, too."

"You _have_ a wife, dick face."

"She's getting engaged too you know; some leaf rat keeps coming to visit her."

"That's old news."

"I still say this is all over a gold mine."

Tenzou tuned out, bored. The people of Suna might care whether it was the council or Temari that nagged the Kazekage about getting married, but he didn't. Five men sat around a table, not even bothering to keep their voices down, and he was tired of all the extraneous information. He'd planted his bug on Yoshiko Friday night, nothing had come of it (yet), and now it was Monday; he was cooling his heels in The Shady Corner. The damn, low-life pub was getting on his nerves, since it wasn't a veritable fountain of information tonight—and hadn't been for days.

Something big was going down and damn it, he wanted to know what it was!

There were last minute shift changes on the tower look-outs surrounding Suna, but that wasn't unheard of in a Shinobi village. The fact that they were done quietly might hint something, but what that something might be, he didn't know.

Deciding to give The Shady Corner the flick, Tenzou slammed down his glass and walked out.

Wandering the streets, he debated just heading back to the apartment he shared with Sakura.

She had been feeling more and more useless, so Tenzou suggested she make a surprise visit to Gaara's home tonight; he didn't like it, but ultimately, she was right about them needing something more concrete, from the Kazekage himself. They'd talked about it after communicating with Naruto yesterday. She hadn't wanted to talk, by the looks of it, but he couldn't just let it all hang in the air. They were on a mission—a potentially disastrous one, politically speaking—and they needed to clear the air. And make sure they were on the same page.

He'd started by apologising for the way he'd been with her about the Kazekage. He just didn't want to see her set herself up to get hurt again. She was much like him, and Kakashi, in the fact that her love life was abysmal, and she didn't seem to understand what was best for her. Tenzou had dated a number of women over the years, but never been in love. Kakashi was a one-night stand guy, but had admitted to Tenzou in a drunken slur, that he quite liked the idea of falling in love. Sakura had been in love, but never with anyone who cared about her, so her relationships had fizzled and died, quickly.

The common denominator was the outcome.

Gaara was bound to be just another disappointment to her, he told her. But Sakura didn't believe the Kazekage would hurt her. Maybe, since he didn't know who she really was.

On her side of their discussion, Sakura admitted she knew this wasn't a long-term thing. She wasn't being a blind teenager hopped up on hormones. She was making the most of a delicate situation and she believed that Naruto's reasoning for sending her here wasn't about Gaara. They were about her. So, no matter what happened, she would return to Konoha with a clear head. She hoped.

But Tenzou wasn't stupid—if she could be with Gaara, openly, honestly, and forever, she would.

But he let it go.

She hugged him, thanked him, promised she would not let her liaisons with the Kazekage go to her head, and went back to bed—she wasn't a morning person, and especially on a weekend.

But she was still hurting over it.

He wondered if maybe he should track Gaara down again, though he doubted the man would be as scared to death as he'd want him to be... obviously. Their mission was high profile enough, he supposed. But Hayato... he grinned. Hayato would do it anyway.

Sayuri was Hayato's little sister, while Sakura was _his_. It would feel wrong just to let this go. Kakashi would sigh at him in that disappointed way of his, for letting the opportunity pass; Sai would question his manhood for _seemingly_ not having the balls, and Naruto... well the blond would probably give him crap missions for a month as punishment for not defending her honour.

It wouldn't matter to them that he'd already talked with Gaara, just that he hadn't done so since. Back in Konoha, the boys of Team Kakashi were constantly keeping "riff raff" away from Sakura.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), his decision was made for him. The wood radio in his ear crackled to life and he high tailed it to the apartment. It was the only place he felt completely secure in doing this. He'd actually implanted a small radio, like the one he used to communicate with his wood clone, on Yoshiko, instead of the typical ninja issued bug. She had prior ninja training, and on top of that, this reduced the risk of anyone else listening in on him listening in. It needed to be administered to her system periodically as the body digested it every twelve hours, which was why he had spent the last two nights in her house.

Sakura was kind of freaked out to learn he actually did understand the concept of a sex life.

Tenzou smirked at that as he let himself into their apartment, taking note that he was home alone, and vaguely remembering that her hours at the Kazekage building would be over—which meant that she was at Gaara's mansion, again. Or Yoshiko's place—but the former was more likely.

He went straight to his room and sat down on the bed, keeping his body as still as he could. This was far more complicated than simply planting a seed in someone's cocktail and following them at a discreet distance. This required a level of concentration he liked to think was on the same level of sage-hood. Closing his eyes, he focused on his chakra, activating the Mokuton cells in his body to connect with the radio. He'd set it to activate on Shin's voice, so he would only be alerted if it was important. The voices that came through were clear as day. Unlike Sakura, Yoshiko didn't often leave work on time...

"Come in." That was Shin.

"Sensei?" Yoshiko asked.

The councillor sighed. "You don't need to call me that."

Tenzou remembered Yoshiko telling him that Shin had been telling her to drop the title for years—he actually _did_ used to be her sensei. And then, Naruto's juicy gossip popped in his head...

"Hai," she said. "I have those reports you wanted."

"Hm." Paper shuffling. "I see; did you finalise the paperwork for the last of the shift changes?"

"Yes sensei."

"And left it on the Kazekage's desk and not his assistant's, or even the unit captain's?"

"Of course, sensei."

Silence.

"Sensei... may I ask why?"

"Suna will soon play host to a very important guest," he said, his voice suddenly wary. "Not one that many who know of it approve of, mind you, despite... things."

More silence—longer this time.

"Sensei—" Yoshiko began, sounding worried.

"An ally of this magnitude could benefit Suna, Yoshiko."

More paper shuffling.

"But _him_?"

That line confused Tenzou—she'd only just been told someone was coming, so who could she possibly mean by "him"?

"They will be arriving during the shift change, to avoid attracting attention," Shin said, now sounding imperious rather than the nostalgic form of martial authority he'd addressed her with a moment ago. "And they are coming here to see the Kazekage, in the early, twilight hours of tomorrow morning."

…

X X X

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't say when the next chapter will be up, since we've caught up with what is on ff net, but I've been rewriting and reorganising so hopefully not too long. *crosses fingers* I want to write a chapter a week, but we'll see how that goes. Don't be surprised if I don't quite make it on time. ;P  
> I know he wasn't a feature here, but good news: next chapter is VERY Gaara friendly. ;) Lotsa love! ^_^


	10. What Not to Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumour has it that the new Kazekage is difficult to please and can't be trusted. Unable to confirm or deny this, the Hokage decides to send his best friend to test Gaara. Naruto had it all figured out: Sakura plus seduction equals one very *satisfied* Kazekage. AUish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya.
> 
> It's kind of ironic to me that THIS is the chapter I'm up to when I came back to this after so long. It was never going to be a humour filled chapter, and it's a pivotal point in the story. It will set the tone for the rest of the story, going forward. But like I've previously stated: I'll try to squeeze in the weird humour that's been in it so far. Hopefully the years of disconnect I have with this fic won't affect it too much.
> 
> I apologise ahead of time if it does.
> 
> Also, I always have to have a clear timeline for everything I write. So, for continuity's sake: this chapter is July 15th; a Monday.
> 
> Anyway. Enjoy! ^_^

…  
Chapter Ten: What Not to Do.  
...

The window was open but the air breezing through it was warm and even the light of the rising sun made no difference. It was that hot. Gaara had considered having a shower when returning to bed after his early morning meeting but knew he would just start sweating again as soon as he joined his sleeping companion.

Sayuri was out like a light and had been for hours.

Lying next to her, he absently ran his fingers through the soft strands of her hair. The black was a nice contrast against her pale skin, surprisingly not making her look like some pasty ghoul. On most people he thought black hair and white skin looked too creepy. But she pulled it off well. Her complexion was perfect.

_Strands of black._ But even though they were soft between his fingers and felt nice, they were still … weird.

He glanced down at her sleeping form, a grin slowly building on his face as he contemplated waking her up the _fun_ way.

Sayuri had kicked off the blankets in her sleep, clearly too hot to worry about covering herself. She wasn't exactly the shyest person, but she'd proven to be far more modest after Gaara had finished fucking her, preferring to wrap herself up as though he hadn't just had his hands and lips all over her. But when she fell asleep, all of that disappeared.

She was comfortable in her own skin. Which, as he'd noted each time they slept together, was at odds to her demeanour when awake. Often, he felt like Sayuri could barely move in her own body, but when she was asleep and naked next to him, she just looked content. Every inch of her was exposed to him and as he brushed his fingers along the smooth, unblemished skin, Gaara revelled in the way her body responded. It was bold and unashamed. Her hand swiped at him. Her other arm came up to rest next to her head, and her legs parted slightly; the pose was enticing and brazen.

His fingers slid along her sex and he smirked at the slick of arousal that had already gathered. Gaara admired that she kept herself well waxed but wondered what she would look like if she just trimmed there instead. He tried to picture a patch of black hair, but all the images just came up looking wrong. It was either the shape or the colour—he wasn't sure.

Sayuri's knees rose suddenly and she trapped his hand between her legs, her face screwing up in concentration. He continued to sooth her lower lips, easing her tension and making her lower her legs and let him keep fingering her as she bucked into his hand.

He couldn't believe she was such a heavy sleeper, but then again, she was just a civilian.

Gaara frowned at that. These were treacherous thoughts—it made him want to change the stupid laws so he could _keep_ her. He couldn't help it. There was just something mesmerising about her. It wasn't just her scent or the pretty way she pouted and pursed her lips together. She was also a bit of an enigma. It was cliché to say, but when he looked at her, she didn't _look_ like a Sayuri.

And he was aware of this weird disconnect he was having, every time he took the time to really peruse her. Something at the back of his head was telling him he was missing something. The familiarity was at odds with the disconcertment he felt. At the same time that he felt drawn to her he also wary; only the thought of never being able to fuck her again kept him from ending this affair.

It had his head spinning.

Sayuri groaned. "Fuck you," she mumbled and rolled away from him.

He chuckled and repositioned his hand to run over her arse, admiring the curves on her petite figure and that little indent under her bum. She shifted again, pressing her face into her pillow, her body into the mattress, her arse on display.

She was so delectable. He'd never felt this attached to someone who shared his bed before.

_I want to keep her._

Gaara groaned at that repeated thought, resting his open palm on the small of her back as he tried to sort out his desire. The previous weekend had been busy for him, but he'd taken the time to research the laws involving the Kazekage and marriage, in the appropriate section in the public library. Doing so was really annoying as his most rabid fangirls had already been in the library and watched him avidly, not hiding interest the entire time. He'd found a few books on civilian loopholes but ultimately left them behind on the desk he'd been hunched over and abandoned them. He needed to speak with the council lawyers instead—no twittering fangirls would be allowed to distract him in that building. So that was his plan.

He was going to keep her. If she wanted him to.

Sayuri rolled over again, this time moving closer to him. He cupped the side of her face, staring at her closely; the little button nose, those pouty, pink lips…

_Pink…_

There were only two women he'd ever thought of so often that they never permanently left his thoughts.

_Naruto's special person._

He swallowed heavily, dropping his hand from Sayuri's face. What was he thinking? He couldn't think about _her_. Not when he was entertaining fucking the beautiful woman lying next to him, to wake her up.

_No._

Pushing that years old infatuation out of his head, Gaara shifted, and Sayuri rolled toward him in her sleep. It was too hot to cuddle, but he let her press the length of her body against his, nonetheless. Wiping at a bead of sweat that was about to sting his eye, he wrapped her leg over his, pressing himself into the curve of her groin. He ran a hand delicately over her sensitive spots as she moaned and leaned into his touch. As she shivered and murmured his name, Gaara felt himself starting to harden.

Sayuri groaned as he rocked against her for more friction and she grabbed at his chest, surprising him. Her eyes were tightly closed, her lips parted as her breathing deepened, and her body seemed to be moving autonomously.

He almost debated waking her up and making sure she was okay with this; his fingers slid inside of her again and he pushed his chakra in until it met her womb. She reacted as she always did to his self-invented birth control, trembling and arcing her body as though she'd never felt anything so good before.

Gaara hesitated as her head flopped back on the pillow and she stopped responding, clearly slipping deeper into her slumber as though her orgasm had drained all her sexual desire. Should he stop now? He watched the twitch of her R.E.M. sleep and sighed. She murmured his name as he removed his finger from inside her.

"Fuck me," she murmured.

_Decision made._

Frustrated and annoyed at his own indecision, Gaara cradled her hips and thrust into her. She let out a yelp and the knee jerk response almost made her fall out of his grasp. Moving with her as Sayuri's eyes fluttered open, he rolled her onto her back, fucking her almost desperately.

"Gaara!"

She was suddenly wide awake, her toes curling, her legs wrapping around his waist as he drove into her violently. He closed his eyes, burying his face in her shoulder and tried desperately to drive every painful doubt he had in his mind out of himself by fucking his secretary so hard into his mattress that the bed screeched in alarm beneath them.

A few hours prior, he'd been angry and disappointed in himself. Now, he was just angry at himself.

_A few hours ago._

The meeting he'd been waiting for, with Suna's newest potential ally, hadn't gone according to plan.

**.**

_**A few hours ago:** _

_The twilight hours in Suna were hotter than the desert. As the guards changed their shifts, and grumbled about the heat, they didn't notice the extra shadow passing under the towers that the sun hadn't cast. The chakra went unnoticed as it passed through the village, following a route that had been given to it by the council themselves. Its destination rose on the horizon like a beacon; it was the tallest building in the entire village, after all._

_It paused; the ninja hidden in its depths searched the area to spot the guards in place before moving in._

_Gaara waited on the roof of the Kazekage building; the contrast of light and dark at this elevation hiding them from anyone who may happen to be passing on ground level. The ninja of Suna knew not to bother the officials inside this time of morning. The twilight hid them perfectly via both illumination and etiquette._

_Kankuro and Baki stood to the side and behind Gaara, and a handful of ANBU waited in the shadows. His brother was here for personal reasons, wishing to play the protective big brother card, and Baki had been the compromise from the council who had wished to be a part of this meeting—Gaara had shot them down hard, not wanting them anywhere near this potential ticking time bomb, lest they make things worse._

_They didn't have long to wait as another shadow joined them moments after they'd moved into position._

_Kankuro was the first to react to the newcomer, shifting his stance and holding his head high as though looking down on the man as inferior._

_Gaara decided against the custom greetings. "Sasuke."_

_Sasuke stood four feet in front of him, his hand on the katana at his waist, his expression blank. "Hn."_

_Gaara didn't react, choosing instead to wait for the last Uchiha to explain what he was looking for in Suna. The council had all but ordered him to be a part of this—more like pressured and guilted him—but that didn't mean he had to be accommodating._

_Gaara disliked Sasuke, thoroughly. Loyalty was important to him, but the Uchiha didn't claim the same thing. He viewed his plans for attacking Konoha as revenge, but the redhead saw them as childish and ungrateful. The friends he'd made and people who had helped him meant nothing to him and Sasuke's darkness was more important than life itself._

_Gaara used to feel this way and knew—in hindsight—just how selfish it was._

_The part of him that was loyal to Suna warred with the part that was loyal to the treaty they had with Konoha and he wasn't sure what to do about that. It would be self-defeating to choose between them. And as he watched Sasuke eyeing him off like he was just another village leader he could easily squash, Gaara contemplated the conversation he'd be having right now if it was Naruto's alliance the council valued more._

_The Hokage was trustworthy and had never turned on an ally. But Gaara's loyalty to Suna, no matter the consequence, had to come first._

_Kankuro broke the silent staring contest. "Why did you want this meeting, Sasuke?"_

_The Uchiha didn't look at the Kazekage's sibling, choosing to pretend Gaara had asked the question instead. "Your people owe nothing to the Leaf," he said._

" _Not like_ _ **you**_ _do," Kankuro said, earning a reproachful look from a still silent Baki._

_Sasuke glanced at him nonchalantly before turning back to Gaara. "Your father saw the wisdom in dominating them. If it weren't for Orochimaru, that invasion of his would have worked."_

_Gaara twitched at the mention of his father and Kankuro murmured something unintelligible under his breath._

" _What's your premise for coming to us? You didn't say in your initial communication," Baki said._

_Sasuke nodded to him, surprising them all. "I will destroy Konoha. Not that I need you to crush them," he scoffed. "But without me, how long will your village last having to be subservient to Fire in every negotiation. Your council and the Feudal Lord are both getting impatient with them."_

_Gaara was surprised at that. "How do you plan to attack Konoha without help?"_

_Sasuke smirked. "I have the numbers."_

_Gaara frowned. That was very forthcoming of him. Either Sasuke didn't doubt for a second that Gaara would back him up or this was a tactic to put him on the defensive. Or perhaps he wasn't above simply bragging to entice people to join him. A bunch of fangirls or fanboys might follow the Uchiha willingly without a promise of something in return, but Gaara wasn't that easy. Or that kind of idiot._

_Kankuro scoffed. "Right."_

_The ANBU in the shadows moved slightly as Sasuke shifted his stance, clearly not happy with Kankuro's continued disrespect._

" _Then why are you really here?"_

_Sasuke removed his hand from the hilt of the katana on his waist, perhaps thinking it would make him look less of a threat. "I need you to not interfere." He stared straight at Gaara. "You are the one kage most likely to come to the defence of leaf. I need your assurance you won't try to stop me. In return, I can help you become stronger than the other villages. I have detailed information on them gathered by the Akatsuki before their fall. It's yours if you agree to this truce."_

_Orochimaru's name was on the tip of Sasuke's tongue, of that Gaara was sure. That was the one source of information that he'd believe the Uchiha actually had. But this whole Akatsuki bit, it was heady information if he wasn't lying. Everyone knew that Pein had been spying on all the nations for years before Naruto and Jiraiya took him down for good. The time spent hunting down all the members and taking them all out didn't uncover their leader's hideout and it was believed that—wherever it was—it remained intact to this day._

_And if Sasuke did have this information, there was nothing to stop him from handing it over to whatever nation he wanted. From handing it to those who wanted to take down Suna. There was still no love lost between the Wind and Cloud, for example. But Gaara had no way of knowing how much the Akatsuki had figured out. It would stand to reason that Suna wasn't the only village that changed its security procedures after the revelation about the Akatsuki spies, vetting every person who entered the village more strictly from then on._

_It was why Gaara had held off for so long on arranging a marriage for himself, like the council kept pushing him to do. He cleared his throat before that thought could stray too far into dangerous territory._

_Gaara frowned at Sasuke. "You would betray every person who cares about you, in Konoha. You would betray Naruto—"_

" _The_ _ **dobe**_ _can go to hell," Sasuke said, narrowing his eyes at Gaara. "None of them are innocent."_

" _So you'll kill women and children too?"_

" _If that's what it takes."_

_Gaara stared into his eyes, not missing the way Sasuke flinched at his own claim. A part of Gaara wondered the Uchiha he was being honest with himself about that. But the sinister look on his face could not be ignored. He desired vengeance. He wanted blood. But whose blood was he willing to spill to make it happen?_

" _How do we know you even have any information on other villages?" Baki asked the question on everyone's lips. "You could be using it to lure us into helping, just like your former sensei tricked the previous Kazekage."_

_It was a fair question._

" _You don't." He glanced at Kankuro. "I can understand him being this stupid, but I didn't think Gaara was on that level."_

" _Watch your mouth," Kankuro growled._

_Sasuke smirked. "I'm proven correct, again."_

" _Don't—"_

_Gaara realised too late what that smirk on Sasuke's face meant. He was testing them, riling up Kankuro to see how far they were willing to go. If Gaara attacked Sasuke now, thinking to end this before it could go any further, then he couldn't be trusted to abstain from helping Naruto when the time came."_

" _I'm not listening to any more of this," Kankuro said, holding out his arm as though he was preparing to turn Sasuke into his personal puppet. "You have no honour and are a liar."_

" _Your dog is annoying," Sasuke said, unsheathing his katana. The ANBU in the area made themselves known the instant before he charged forward to take a swipe at Kankuro, but Gaara held his hand up to stop them. Even Baki hesitated, not understanding why his Kazekage would let this happen. Gaara's sand swirled around Sasuke, but the Uchiha moved quickly out of the way, disappearing and then reappearing behind the redhead._

_Gaara hadn't been trying very hard, since he had Sasuke both outnumbered and outsmarted, but this was extreme, even for the Uchiha._

_**He has lost his mind.** _

_Gaara dissolved into sand under Sasuke's attack, his clone scattering, making the Uchiha back up quickly._

" _You did that on purpose." Sasuke growled._

_The ANBU moved forward now, cornering the last Uchiha as he glowered at the spot where Gaara had disappeared. Sensing that the Kazekage was nearby and could hear every word he was saying, he spoke once more before disappearing in a flurry of red and purple chakra._

_He'd teleported out._

_Gaara frowned, watching from the rooftop two buildings over; his third eye swivelled and he tried to track Sasuke's chakra signature, to no avail._

_That was a long-distance teleport._

_He was long gone._

**.**

Gaara's eyes closed soon after finishing and he didn't have the strength to pull out of Sayuri before exhaustion took him. He vaguely recalled the feeling of her body trembling violently in her own orgasm as his dreams took over. He dreamed of that mild scuffle with Sasuke, only Sayuri was here this time, but she didn't look like herself. She was upset and apologising to the Uchiha. Jealousy burned inside Gaara and he crushed them both with his sand. When they were only blood splatters on the ground, he was suddenly in the middle of the desert, his control over sand gone, and an army of Sasuke clones charging him.

They never made it to him.

Gaara woke slowly, his legs entangled with Sayuri's and his sand shifting uncomfortably. Awareness overtook fatigue and he groaned softly as everything came flooding back to him. No matter how beautiful or entrancing Sayuri was, she could only distract him from what he had to do for so long. He tried to shake that ridiculous dream from his head as he carefully extracted himself from her embrace, surprised momentarily by the strength with which she unconsciously clung to him, and slid out of bed. It was six in the morning and he was suddenly wide awake.

Gaara had been agonising over everything for days leading up to it but meeting with Sasuke a few hours ago and acknowledging he never wanted to give up Sayuri had solidified his resolve. He needed to get on top of this before it spiralled completely out of control.

Baki had promised to inform the council of everything and Gaara wasn't looking forward to their inevitable "well, if we had that information it would be worth it" speech.

He had a few more errands to run, but he finished up around ten o'clock and headed over to _Kaninbo Dojo_ for the one he had been dreading since he decided to do it. The Grand Master greeted him enthusiastically at the door, doing a poor job of hiding his surprise.

"Lord Kazekage," Hanshi said, bowing low. "I am Grand Master Hanshi. I am honoured by your presence."

Gaara had never been here and was expecting this show of respect, but waved the man's introduction away, not wanting to stand on pomp. He looked around, ignoring the dumbfounded expressions of everyone who'd noticed him until his eyes fell on the man he was looking for. Sayuri's brother was having a discussion with one of the students and by the looks of it, they were debating over some techniques. He had yet to notice the redhead's arrival.

"What can we do for you, Lord Kazekage?"

Gaara glanced back and Master Hanshi. "Gather your strongest fighters in the ring."

Hanshi's eyebrows rose to his hairline in confusion and he froze for a moment before realisation dawned on his face and he was suddenly scrambling to obey. Gaara found it amusing how civilians acted just like ninja when it came to following an order from him; even though he technically had no official sway over civilians, it was great to watch the respect and awe in their eyes. He sighed.

_I'm getting as bad as Temari._

He watched as they paired up and Hanshi goaded, ordered, or guilted the members into fighting for the Kazekage's viewing pleasure. Hayato was the only one who seemed to be unimpressed by Gaara's presence, but he fought his opponent as though it was a contest for more than just bragging rights and the redhead was surprised at how good he was.

Gaara was impressed.

He moved like a samurai, for sure, but there was an elegance in his style that was rare outside of ninja training warriors. It was more than enough for what he needed. Gaara put an end to the exercise and waved the Grand Master and Hayato over to him, ignoring the disappointment on the faces of the other dojo members.

Hanshi looked flustered as Hayato just stared right back at the Kazekage, not bothering to introduce himself.

He decided to do the introductions. "This is—"

"We've met," Gaara cut him off and startled, Hanshi looked between the two men, confused.

The Grand Master frowned but moved away after a few moments when all they did was stare at each other intensely.

_Awkward._ Hanshi moved away without waiting to be dismissed, shaking his head, worried.

Hayato raised an eyebrow, practically demanding that Gaara speak first.

The redhead sighed. "You handle yourself well, for a civilian."

The older man huffed. "Yeah, these pipsqueaks are fodder." He grinned.

The shift from annoyed to elated in his expression sent a shiver down Gaara's spine and he barely managed to conceal it. He cleared his throat. "We need to talk privately."

Hayato saluted. "Lead the way."

Gaara didn't bother glancing at the dojo members and woman nearby who were ogling him before leaving the building, Sayuri's brother trailing behind. They left the civilian district, heading toward the Kazekage tower and almost made it before Hayato groaned about this taking too long. The redhead stopped and turned to find the man shaking his feet like he'd twisted his ankle and leaning on his sword, the hilt up.

"Just tell me why I'm missing the praise and bosoms I normally get for showing off in there," Hayato said. He looked up at the tower, his demeanour changing as his eyes twinkled and that manic grin returned. "Is your sister in there?"

_I'm going to regret this,_ Gaara thought, sighing inwardly.

He decided the area was empty enough to have this conversation. "I need a temporary civilian bodyguard."

Sayuri's brother pulled a face. "Your ninja not up to the challenge?"

Gaara sighed deeply this time. "For civilian dignitaries."

"Hm. Makes sense."

Gaara waited for a better response but when it became clear that Hayato would rather stare at him than participate in the conversation, he decided to cut to the chase. This man was very annoying, and the redhead would have called this off if he hadn't witnessed first-hand how good Hayato was in the ring.

"Are you available?"

"For hire?"

Gaara nodded.

"I'm not cheap," Hayato said, stroking his chin.

"I'm sure we can come to an arrangement."

The older man mulled it over and played with his sword for a bit before agreeing.

"Great," Gaara said, not feeling great about it at all. "I'll have the information you'll need sent to you soon."

Hayato waved. "Cheers, Kaze-Gaara!"

Shaking his head, Gaara retreated to his office, hoping to get some paperwork done before lunch; Sayuri would be working already and he desperately wanted to spend his off time with her. She was going to get a kick out of what he'd offered to her brother.

But who was he defending against? Sasuke or Konoha?

He needed to make a decision on where to go from here. He needed to bolster Suna. He needed to do this right. And he didn't have much time.

Sasuke's final parting shot at Gaara after dispersing his sand clone had been an ultimatum.

" _You have a week to make your decision. Either you become my ally over Konoha, or I'm attacking Suna first."_

…

XXX

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realised I have yet to mention Gaara and Sakura's ages in here. So, I've been picturing them as 25-year olds. Approximately. Just wanted to set that straight.
> 
> Lotsa love! ^_^

**Author's Note:**

> The chunin exams went differently. Remember that. :)  
> Please kudo/subscribe/comment. Lotsa love! :)


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